A Short Reprieve

Tired as they were, the return trip was full of spirit as the party took turns sifting through their packs and reorganizing their plunder. Though the bandits hadn’t been exceptionally wealthy, everyone found themselves to now be at least fifty gold richer through what they managed to split among one another. Lian and Moze took most of the raw materials that were found, that they suspected could be used for crafting somewhere down the line while the rations and prepared foods were divided up among everyone. Not only that, but most of the party was even able to upgrade their camping supplies with the addition of a tent.

Of course, those handy additions paled in comparison to the armor and weapons. More power and direct upgrades to their stats were needed every bit as much as their survival necessities. Ember looked over the shiny new steel maul he had laid claim to. No longer was he relegated to that old, rusty bludgeon. Though the new maul lacked the same range as the last one, it was substantially stronger in the damage department. A new set of studded leather also now adorned his form, it even bore a similar fur trim as his last set, though now complete with interwoven metal plates.

Ember wasn’t the only one to receive an upgrade however. Thordon too got to enjoy a new set of studded leather and a bronze gladius. Lian managed to restock most of her lost arrow supply while also moving from a light set of leather to a medium set of thick hide and a nice new oaken bow. Moze meanwhile enjoyed the acquisition of a steel longsword and a set of refurbished half plate mail. Finally Maggie now sported a new yellow and black ribbon and an oak wand. The only one not to receive an upgrade had apparently been Ruori who only seemed interested in minor items like a mirror and a hairbrush, the sorts of items most regular players would see as junk. Contented, the party made their way back through the wilderness to once again return to Moze’s camp.

Here, in their haphazard little base of operations, work had begun to make the place feel a bit more homely. It began with the tents as everyone began to set them up. Though they were of bandit make, they at least appeared capable of performing their job of keeping the rain out. The process was a bit slow however, even with the additional guidance of the faint outlines to coach them through the process. Eventually however, the tents were pitched while Moze had already gotten to work getting some food on the fire and tea boiling on in their new teapot, upon their new cooking rack. Now, with their work done, most of the party gathered around the fire, all except for Ruori who was kicked back on a tree branch above them, brushing her hair.

“Man, I think cheers are in order team. Things got a bit rough, but I think we handled ourselves well for our first battle together.” Moze proudly stated as he began to fill everyone’s various cups with freshly brewed tea.

“Damn right! Still, you think we’re actually ready to take on the big one tomorrow?” Lian asked.

Moze took a sip of his tea. “Sure, I think we can handle it. There might be other means of prep, but honestly, I don’t think we’re getting much more prepared than this. We have solid gear, a few more levels under our belt, and we’ve all gotten a taste of a real fight. Honestly, aside from grinding for levels, I can’t think of much. Besides, there’s likely gonna be a level cap anyway, so leveling too high is pointless. Best case scenario, we head in and sweep the place, worst case, we lose and get kicked out. That happens, we’ll just need to reconsider our options, but at the very least, we’ll have the knowledge of how to handle the fight next time.” Moze explained.

“Right, not to mention our new addition. So Ruori, you still thinking of helping us out?” Lain asked.

Ruori brought her hair brush before her and pulled away the loose strands that had accumulated on it before tossing them away. “Sure best shot I’ll have for it any time soon I think.”

“Haha, good, glad you’re part of the team. Gotta say, it feels kinda nice having another girl in the squad.” Lian commented.

“Pff, well, sorry if I aint girly enough for ya.” Ember replied with a smirk

“Oh, no!, that’s not what I meant at all, it's… ah, never mind.” She replied, attempting to just brush it off.

A chuckle then sounded from up in the tree before Ruori turned her gaze to Lian.

“Well, I hate to break it to you, but I’m not really a girl.” She replied with an amused smirk.

“W-wait, what!?” Lian said, turning her head, looking astonished.

“Yep, was a guy before I got pulled in here. Just happened to have a female avatar.” Ruori replied.

“W-woah! Okay, I… never actually considered that. I-it’s not bothering you, is it?” Lian asked.

Ruori shrugged. “Meh, it’s whatever. It’s not like I was particularly attached to my old body anyway. Heh, even if I was, that look on your face would have totally made it worth it.”

The party had turned their heads to Ruori, all seemingly equally surprised at the matter. Still, Moze chuckled to himself. “Yea, seen most of you go through an entire species change yet somehow that never even occurred to me. Man, we’re really not used to this world, are we? Speaking of, I guess now is probably as good a time as any to think about where we want to put our new levels. We’re a team now guys so we’re gonna need to consider what roles we’re going down and how to best support each other.”

“Oh yea!” Ember said before proceeding to open up his codex. “Umm, I’ve been putting everything into hitting stuff so far.”

“Yea, I think that’s fine. I’ll focus on handling the tanking so you can keep building up your DPS. Lian, you’ve been doing a bit of a stat spread right? That should be fine, but remember, you’re our ranged, physical DPS. I’d recommend going forward with a focus on that. Maggie, You’ve got some good healing, but I think we need to see about getting you some offense skills.” Moze suggested.

“U-umm, okay… umm, do you think you could help me? I was really focused on healing so I could help my brother when he got back home, so I didn’t think about the other spells.” She said, looking over her own codex.

“Yea, of course I can. Come on over, I’ll help ya in a sec.” He said, motioning for Maggie to sit beside him. “Now then, That just leaves Thordon and Ruori. Thordon, I don’t really know much about your class, but I think you should focus on things you can do at range, that, and We could definitely use any buffs you might have. As for Ruori, just let me do the tanking and, Ember if he has to, so you can focus on your DPS.”

Ruori stared at her codex, tapping it once before closing it. “I’m aware of what I’m doing, you know. Besides, I only gained one more level from that, so there’s not much adjusting I can do either way.”

Moze just looked up to her. “Yea, I suppose you must…” Anyway, let’s get these skill points sorted, then it’s probably best we turn in for the night we’ve got a big day tomorrow after all.