Legend of the Hunter: Chapter 4 - [S] Fight. Talk. Don't die.

[Torquemadras Trump]

Legend of the Hunter - 111



The hat squid prepares an all-out attack! But your daring SKEWER SKIP ATTEMPT does not go unnoticed!

>Esmerelda: ... you do realize that regardless of who you're targeting right now, you're jumping down towards a quickly moving foe, right? You'll need an ace to guarantee you actually HIT your target.

You soar through the air. Hat squids are notoriously difficult to hit - with those ridiculous googly eyes of theirs, they see all attacks coming and wobble out of the way! Good thing, then, that YOU WON'T HAVE TO RELY ON ACCURACY for this one. Only timing.

And delicate timing like this is your SPECIALTY.



Look at the eyes of that de-hatted squid. It is prepared. Prepared to deliver SWIFT LASERY REVENGE.

Wandering One wrote:
>Forest Imp: Ok, you've had your fun. Now you know the best way to REALLY tick him off? Abscond. Right now. Deprive him of the satisfaction of hitting you once.
Professor zobot wrote:
>Seconded, but only if it swipes his wallet first.

Noooo! Fuckin thievin piss rat
That was my LAST murder chair, asshole!
Nobody plunders MY inventory! Come back 'ere!
There's no chance I'm not gonna catch up on this open unobstructed field here!

Predictably, the squid dodges! The spear shatters the very earth, though its scorching SOUL FLAMES do not find a target. Maybe it was intentional. Maybe you decided to let those psychopaths screw up after all and abscond while they're busy BEING LASERED.

Ooooor...



Right on mark.

>Miss Esmerelda: Help the Tactician!

The living thundersword ALASTOR unleashes a burst of electricity! Just as the squid narrowly dodges the spear, lightning is drawn to it. The devastating THUNDER SPIRE COMBO fries everything around it, out of nowhere, nigh inescapable, and faster than the MOST FASHIONABLE SQUID.

NOOOOOOOOO
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!
DO YOU REALIZE WHAT SHAME YOU HAVE BROUGHT ON ME?!
DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND
THAT MURDERCHAIR - IT WAS A SYMBOL OF HONOR!
YOU ALLOWED A FUCKIN FOREST RAT TO STEAL MY MURDEROUS HONOR CHAIR!

It also happens to allow a brazen forest imp to make his GETAWAY.


==>

[siguard]

>Victoly! and loot! afterwards awkwardly snap back to your previous positions since the fight is over

[Godbot]

> Esmerelda: Break into someone's inventory and alchemize a new chair/weapon/chairweapon for Gwydian.

[OnBackorder]

Loot the bodies for fun and profit.

[Armok]

Nooooo! My favourite character, dead, the update right after she were introduced. :'(

[Shadow Phoenix]

Now tell Esmeralda she clearly didn't behave. And wasn't her screaming in the mid of battle? She's as mute as she's armless. Clearly, you better pummel her with nice words to ensure cooperation.

[Kocel232]

>Esme and Seb: Celebrate with lightning-fried calamari.

>Gwydian: Mourn the loss of the last murder-chair. Solemnly swear revenge.

[Mibbs]

Twiddlefeet: console gwydian
wait where was twiddlefeet?

[Not The Author]

> Hurl Twiddlefeet at the Imp in a last-ditch revenge attempt.

[Wessolf27]

> Gwyddy: Continue to be suddenly pinned on the chest by Esme's spear... even though it probably should be burning red hot from the heat of electricity, do not question this.

[Professor zobot]

>Everyone: Experience the strange human sensation known as friendship, due to bonds forged in the lightning of battle.

Esmerelda: Attempt to harvest foes for alchemy ingrediants.

> Gwydian: Attempt to harvest demon chainsaw as new weapon

>Sebastian: Be relieved that the squid is now Kalimari

[Torquemadras Trump]

Legend of the Hunter - 112

>Everyone: Experience the strange human sensation known as friendship, due to bonds forged in the lightning of battle.

Ah, you don't know about that quite yet. It was a nice maneuver, you'll give them that, and it was incredible to finally feel the freedom of causing havoc all you want! But friends? With these guys? You'll stay quiet for some more time, just to be sure.

But until then...



MOTHERFUCKING VICTORY DANCE.

Now tell Esmeralda she clearly didn't behave. You better pummel her with nice words to ensure cooperation.

Now, uh... wasn't that great?!
That was teamwork! We actually worked together!
I'm really impressed by your skill!
Do you see now how much we can benefit from each other? We'll travel to Arael together!
Uuuuh... good? Enough? Erm... how about this...
I admire the way you ensured Gwydian's humiliation...?


Ain't he a CHARMER. It's somewhat adorable how he's pretending to NOT USE YOU TO GET THE ULTIMATE WEAPON... Adorable and kinda retarded. If Sebastian keeps up his silly little game, it might be more beneficial to play along, after all...
You wonder whether he knows his sword's LINING UP TO SKEWER HIM?

> Hurl Twiddlefeet at the Imp in a last-ditch revenge attempt.

TWIDDLEFEET! TO THE RESCUE!
You're my last chance now, bony feline friend! Find that imp and roast it!
Uuuuuhm but try to be not too attention-drawing about it
Find a balance between exquisite pain and Aaron-luring spectacle, 'kay

>Gwydian: Mourn the loss of the last murder-chair. Solemnly swear revenge.

Gwydian doesn't take the humiliation he endured at the hands of a cheeky forest imp too well. He's not the type to mourn in silence - but swearing revenge? HE'S ALL OVER THAT SHIT.

Curse yoooouuuuuu, forest imp!
I vow to take back that murder chair! You have made a powerful enemy today!
A powerful and ANGRY AS FUCK enemy!
Someday, I'll find you! And then! AND THEN!
THEN WE'LL SEE WHO'S MAKING THE FUCKING ANNOYING FACE, THEN!



Aaaargh, why does this sword have to be so fucking capricious?!
Get away, Alastor! Direct your stabbing somewhere else!
I've got a huge fuck-off gun now that's just begging to replace you, you know that?!
Uhm
Guys chainsaw dude is still kickin
I mean, I'm not surprised, guys with chainsaws are notoriously skilled at turning out to not be dead
But I was kinda gettin my revenge swearing on here
Guys?

Oh dear. These guys are going to be HIGH MAINTENANCE, aren't they.



Translated from garbled cephalopod babblings
(I wonder when Anastacia will show up.)
(Yeah, she's sooooo late! Maybe she forgot her hat?)
(Oh, she'd notice that right away! You know she's always getting a bad case of eye lasers without proper headgear.)
(Ah, I'm sure she's just tardy.
After all, it was her idea to help all those kids who lost their parents due to random encounters!)
(Yes, we cannot look away from such tragedy.)


==>

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Nooooo! My favourite character, dead, the update right after she were introduced. :'(

...you know you just created a whole race of these things, right?

Hold on to your hats. OR ELSE.

[Wessolf27]

Poor Anastacia... defeated by a random encounter. We should spend five seconds of silence for her.

...

Okay, that's good enough.

Esme: Maybe you should just deal with the Chainsaw wielding demon just so that Gwyddy's not going to get killed.

[Professor zobot]

Twiddlefeet vs. an Imp... this is some serious Alien Vs. Predator stuff here, guys.

>Sebastian: Feel strangely refreshed to have a new traveling companion after all this time. Attempt further interaction

>Esmerelda: Refuse to talk until some plot-critical moment.

>Gwydian: While waiting for your cat's inevitable success, check booze levels. You aren't running low, are you?

[siguard]

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My little squidhat: friendship is Eye Lazers?

Gwydian>Pillagers Piledriver the dude with the chainsaw
Sebastian> slow the Chainsaw Demon down with a Icy Stare

[Mibbs]

twiddlefeet: devour imp, take on his tricksteriness

[Armok]

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...you know you just created a whole race of these things, right?

Hold on to your hats. OR ELSE.

[Kocel232]

Chainsaw Dude, or, as I dub ye, "Murder-Eyes": Say 'hello' the best way you know how! CHAINSAW TO THE FACE.

Seb and Gwyd: flee from chainsaw death, running comically in circles to "Yackety Sax."

[Malrone]

>Squids: also tempt irony. Your talk of random encounters is drawing you straight towards, dare I say, ADVENTURERS.

[Oven]

Hatsquids: become a roving party of well-dressed adventurers.

[Torquemadras Trump]

Legend of the Hunter - 113

Chainsaw Dude, or, as I dub ye, "Murder-Eyes": Say 'hello' the best way you know how! CHAINSAW TO THE FACE.

OH GOD THIS FUCKING HURTS
What are you doing chilling out already?!
I can't keep this thing between my hands forever!
I'd HATE to get out of this by headbutting a chainsaw, y'know!



That chainsaw demon looks dangerous, and he's dangerously close to Gwydian! But it seems as if Sebastian has just the right trick to help his brother.

If you remember correctly, Gwydian said he'd just need the right fuel for one particularly devastating ability of his...

Leviathan's Logistics in action, folks! It allows the user to freely distribute his items to other team members (and even enemies), which pretty much eliminates most inventory troubles. And the best thing? It doesn't take up a turn, allowing Sebastian to intervene at any time!

Sadly, it's limited to one use per battle - absurdly excellent and physically impossible logistics can only get you so far. Nonetheless, it could prove to be quite useful for one quick alchemy to go.

Fine, you little drama queen.
Have a Blazing Basil! Do something smart with it!



Hell yeah!
I LOVE BEING SMART!

Gwydian unleashes a technique unlike any you've ever seen before - the EXOTHERMAL CLAW! Suddenly, he grows sharp claws from nowhere and downright ANNIHILATES THAT BAZIL ON AN ATOMIC LEVEL. A supremely sharp cut with the force of a SMALL NUCLEAR EXPLOSION cuts the demonic lumberjack in half!

>Sebastian: Feel strangely refreshed to have a new traveling companion after all this time. Attempt further interaction
>Esmerelda: Refuse to talk until some plot-critical moment.

The battle is finally won! FOR REAL THIS TIME.

There! Knew you could do it, Gwydian.
No dangers left, ma'm. I'm pleased that you didn't stab either of us to death when you had the chance.
You can trust us. Definitely.
Man, it's been a while since I've had ANYONE but this fuck-up over there to talk to on travels!

Sounds nice and all, but he's trying a little too hard. Who says he won't turn around and shove you off a cliff once you start sharing what you know? At worst, he'd kill you. At best, he'd leave you to be possessed by the Demon again. Your silence is your best way of securing your lasting freedom, now that MURDERING ONE, SUBDUING THE OTHER is too much of a bother...
You're pretty sure you're being entirely reasonable about this.

Wait! No! Stay where you are! I can still -



...MADE IT! Booyah!

Sebastian and Gwydian have REACHED LEVEL 6! They both gain a single ABSTRACT CONCEPT REPRESENTING COMBAT REFINEMENT and are sure to hone their skills of strife to unknown heights!

Also, you finally realize those losers are TWO LEVEL LOWER THAN YOU.

LEVEL UP! From all those battles in Videgotto, and finally this random encounter, the brothers finally reached level 6. There's no free ability this time, but once again, they can choose between BRAWLBILITY, MAGICKS, DEBATERY or ALCHEMY!

Now, what's the best choice here...?

==>

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Next level. Woooooooooo

Okay, here's the deal: the brothers can choose something new in each of those four categories! You can make up abilities, of you want, or suggest improvements of existing ones - I'll make something of it, that's for sure.

Sorry for steering away from the squids for now; I thought a proper level up was overdue. Wanted to have one in chapter 2, actually, but I thought there was enough going on already. I'm not going to forget any suggestions about our new eyelasering threat, though...

[siguard]

Esme> hey they weren't doing bad for people who were at the time three levels lower then you.

Sebastian> Majicks: Lighting Charge lvl1 (empower current weapon with extra lighting damage for the battle/plot-action[can be combined with Leviathan Logistics to empower any weapon on the field])
Gwydian> level Brawlchmy again get Atomic Piledriver Level Debatery: Twiddlefeet (can give basic commands to Twiddlefeet reliably)

Team> combine Fancy Top Hat with Squid's Top Hat to make the Superior Hat (from Vaccumtron)

[Professor zobot]

Level up? Hell.

Yes.

Hell Yes.

Hell fucking yessss!

Hm, we need some way to get Esmeralda to trust the brothers more. Unfortunately we didn't take Sebastian full-Debatery, or he might have learned the supremely useful Felicitous Flirtation ability (Which allows you, among other things, to compel members of the opposite gender to give you useful items which vary from character to character by pressing the XL button next to each character.)

Hm... I think I could see Sebastian in this playthrough as an Arcane Swordsman... let's go with a Brawlability this time around, and then magicks the next, maybe? Hopefully he'll learn the Studious Strike technique, which allows him to forgo an attack in order to deal an always-hit attack to an enemy's weakpoint, if such a weak point exists. But then again, I don't really know what he'd learn... this isn't the way I built the character and we're fast approaching the territory where I'm no longer familiar with the game.

Gwydian: Even though you might now have an alchemist chick on the team, you should go Alchemy this time around. Try to learn Mad Mixology, the art of crafting combat-useful DRINKS by mixing various inebriating beverages.

Esmeralda: What, so you don't level up TOO? Pout. Pout epically

Forest Imp: Bribe Twiddlefeet with yummy magic trinket to eat.

EDIT: Was that a Brotastic Fist Bump up there? I think that was a Brotastic Fist Bump

[Mibbs]

Gwydian: no fucking around this time. Brawlability all the way.
go for the technique "FOURTH WALL MASSACRE
Sebastian: go for the Debatery technique "LOOSEN TONGUE" maybe itll help you out with your lasy problems

[Godbot]

> Sebastian: Make a Brawlability out of Alastor hurling bolts of lightning at things - preferably at things made out of metal.

> Gwydian: Learn an alchemy move that works like a reverse-Exothermic Fist (Endothermic Guard?). It can convert magic-fueled attacks into items, which you can then use as improvised weapons.