"Oh? A tail-hole, you say? Maybe you should cut the back of yours open, since you like flashing your panties everywhere," Sabrith retorted with a mischievous glint in her eye, referring to Rayne's damaged skirt, as she went off to find a place to change in privacy.<br/><br/>"There's no way to swap characters," Zombs explained, his back to Rayne while she was changing. "Which is a shame, because some of these players have high-level mains, but right now they're stuck in their noob alts. We've also tried all the ways we could think of to catch the attention of a GM, but either they're all gone or they're all watching us with no intention to intervene. Then again, we shouldn't expect whoever is responsible for the Change to have our best interests at heart. If I ever get my hands on that sadistic bastard..."<br/><br/>Ledude, Moonshadow and Grogza had obtained quite a bit of experience and gold navigating the river down to the sea, enough for the former two to level up, in fact. After Rayne's disappearance they had waited a bit for her, then eventually decided to press on without her and try to find help. Along the way they had encountered all sorts of dangers, but overcame them to arrive safely at Port Lannis. "We've commandeered the<em>Crocodile Express</em>and anchored her at the docks," Grogza explained. "Though we don't know whether a new boat will spawn in Melangwi Outpost, that might be interesting to see."<br/><br/>"I never had a choice when the Kechs collared me, and there wasn't anything like that before the Change, either," the half-orc said upon hearing Rayne's recollection of her encounter with the devil. "They defeated me three times in total - I was alone out in the jungle when the Change happened, and every time my HP dropped to zero, they would... have their way..." Grogza shivered, "there was a grace period after each, um, session, but I was too deep in the jungle to get out before it expired, and then they would come after me again... anyways, after the third time, the leader put the collar on me and I had to do what they wanted after that. I never was presented with a choice..." she frowned, thinking. It was quite a sight to see a half-orc deep in thought. "Maybe that devil was actually a GM or something trying to trick you into putting the collar on? But if they were really a GM, they could just do it without asking, it's not like the victim needs to be willing for it to work," she conjectured wildly.<br/><br/>Afterwards, Rayne caught up with her friends and made some new ones, receiving some teasing compliments on her choice of attire in the process. Everyone was trying their best to relax and enjoy the peaceful moments, sensing that this was the calm before the storm, and that they would be busy with Zombs's big plans starting tomorrow. There were a variety of sleeping quarters for different tastes, ranging from the communal bunks in the servants' quarters to private bedrooms meant for nobles. Ledude and Moonshadow took a room for themselves, to no one's surprise, while Grogza was insistent on sleeping in the communal quarters together with the other players. Sabrith was happy to have a room, or share one with Rayne if she wished, and Zombs and Lizzy had reserved the master bedroom - thought it was definitely a making sure that nobody tried any funny business with her kind of thing, as opposed to the two of them engaging in illicit acts kind of thing.<br/><br/><br/><hr/><br/><br/>As promised, Lizzy had Rayne's and Sabrith's gear fixed up as good as new by the time they checked up on her the next morning, and accepted the pajamas back from them.<br/><br/>After everyone finished breakfast, Zombs found Rayne and Sabrith for a private request. "Would you two be willing to lend your mounts for the cause? The flyers would be invaluable - I'm not asking you to give them up entirely, just maybe let the others ride them when you aren't using them yourselves."<br/><br/>Sabrith readily agreed, and if Rayne agreed as well, Zombs then gathered all the survivors in the courtyard for a meeting, except for those few whose turn it was to patrol the fort's walls. "As all of you know, we've been taking a defensive posture here for the past few days. I know that some of you are impatient to get out there and even the score, and soon you'll have your chance. I have a plan involving walkways and rooftops to shoot the monsters down and clear our streets with impunity. But while we do that, we'll have to address the other concerns of sustaining ourselves.<br/><br/>"Some of you have leveled up and you know as well as I do that we have no way to convert the gold into magic items. So we're technically underpowered for our level, but I'm not going to count on the system catering for that when it spawns the next wave of monsters at us. Lizzy here is willing to craft all the magical weapons and armor and whatnot we need, but she can't do anything without the proper crafting stations. Those are in the market district way over on the other side of town, which puts us in a chicken-and-egg problem because we probably can't secure the place without proper gear, and we can't craft said proper gear without securing the place.<br/><br/>"So we can't go to the stations - then we have to bring them to us. That's where these new fine flying mounts come in. Rayne and Sabrith have graciously agreed to lend their use for this operation. With flight a crack team can bypass the streets, infiltrate the market district and retrieve the crafting stations. How are you supposed to lug around a big freaking anvil and forge while being chased by monsters, you ask. That's what these scrolls of shrink item are for. Now, I can't guarantee that it'll work, but I think it's sure as hell worth a try. It will be dangerous, and I'm fully aware that this could go fubar and turn into Black Hawn Down at any moment, so I'm asking for volunteers who can take care of themselves."<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">OOC</div><div class="spoiler_body">If Rayne volunteers, feel free to pick a companion for her as well by having them volunteer too. There'll also be a third person joining them whom I already have in mind.  :-)<br/></div></div>