"Stalling for time? Great idea, it'll let us recover from the fight." Al-Aris whispers. "Just a bit more healing and I should be ready enough for a fight."

Size up the both of them, try to identify their strengths and weaknesses whilst being healed.

Li smiles, waving towards the newcomers. "Come on! Sit with us! We're just getting started, and why don't you have a drink with us, too?"

Make very, very powerful booze, and offer it to the two of them.

Stalling for time is definitely the best thing we can do right now; it'll let us fully recover from the fight before getting into the next one. I'll try and do what I can to soften them up, but Al-Aris has a total set of maluses to -4, he's going to need some healing. In the meantime, Li will try and get them drunk and off balance.

"It's not polite to turn down your host, after all."

I honestly was just going to try to beat them in a ga-er, you're right! I'm a brilliant tactician! Hahaha!

caekdaemon - Al-Aris and Li-Rala [(10-1-1=8, 2]:
Al-Aris: "Stalling for time? Great idea, it'll let us recover from the fight. Just a bit more healing and I should be ready enough for a fight."
As Mikey and now Dunrim attend to your arm, you stare over at the two newcomers to try and discern their abilities.
Well Wan Wan is obvious. That huge body, the armor, that stupidly large spear; he's a warrior. Though, warrior might not be quite right. A regular warrior or fighter would be more... plain. Less show-offy and grand. Wan Wan, while hardly regal, has a certain powerful presence, not to mention his armor and weapon choices beg for attention.
Hmm. A warrior, but one that demands, or maybe commands, attention in some way.
As for the other, Laeh. She's dressed as a witch, so that's a tremendous hint. Magic, witch-y powers, probably basic spells. She doesn't look or act old enough or experienced enough to have anything drastic up her sleeves. But... There's something odd about her. Wan Wan you can tell is an enemy immediately. He feels like an outsider, someone not working under En. But the girl... she's different. She just feels like a normal person. Perhaps she isn't a formally recruited Embodied like the rest of you? If that's the case, her presence in a battle is definitely a wildcard.
As you scrutinize your opponents, Li tries some preliminary sabotage.
Li-Rala: "Come on! Sit with us! We're just getting started, and why don't you have a drink with us, too?"
Wan Wan: "Ho? Oho! A DRINK! Ahh, it is TEMPTING! Very tempting. However, I must decline. It would not do to drink ON THE JOB, and certainly in a time of danger.
You understand, yes?"
Li gives a small start at this. That last word had a barb in it, a hard edge to his voice that tells you and Li he knew exactly what she was trying, and he was having none of it.
Wan Wan may come across as a boisterous idiot, but it seems there's more than meets the eye for him.

Oh? Oh! You were busy watching Wan Wan, but it seems Mikey and Dunrim succeeded in fixing your arm! There's a sudden rush of heat and tingling as all the feeling comes back into your arm, then the sudden painless agony of your entire arm having gone to sleep. Ow. Ow ow. Stoppit. Ow. Dammit, this facet of humanity sucks.

Appearance: A big and bulky man that appears to be middle aged, with a full head of black hair and surprisingly dark eyes. He claims to be Middle Eastern in origin, but to an observer he would seem to be a little...pale.


Seraphimo - Dunrim [8]:
You see Mikey seemingly having a bit of trouble with Al's arm. Well, with your new found ability with blood... Maybe you can help!
Dunrim: "So uh, odd idea but... I think I can maybe make a bunch of Life energy. Would that help?"
Mikey: "Sure worth a shot."
With a nod, you steel yourself. It'll hurt a bit, but not too much, and it's to help Al anyway. Making a small, sharp "scalpel" of kinetic energy on your right thumb, you run it across the left quickly and probably a bit deeper than you intended. Thankfully, it doesn't seem to be bleeding out of control, and you manage to get quite a lot of blood flowing into your cupped right hand, a bit of kinetic energy sealing the gaps and expanding the cup into a decently sized dish.
Once you think you've got enough, you use a quick pulse of Lifeblood to seal the wound, and bring the blood up for Mikey to see. Using Lifeblood on the cupped handful, it all quickly turns to the same powder as before, but on the bright side, you can feel a nicely sized lump of Life energy concentrated in the palm of your hand. Mikey also sees this and grabs the energy, then feeds it over into Al's shoulder. Meanwhile, you realize that you're a bit tired. Hm. Wonder if Lifeblood has some kind of feedback effect, making your body tired in exchange for the healing energy.
Well, whatever. You only feel a small amount tired, and it wasn't too much blood you used. Though, maybe that means if you use more blood, you'll get a more powerful tiredness? Probably, but now's not the time to test it out. Hopefully not ever. Oh, it looks like the blood you spilled turned into that gray dust again. Is that what blood drained of Life looks like? Creepy. Well, if there's any of that inside your bloodstream, you could certainly understand the fatigue.

Appearance: His face is full of soot and he looks a bit pale but otherwise he looks like a normal human. He is a little shorter than the average human and he likes to wear fully protective clothing. His origin is claimed to be somewhere inside Europe though he's not telling where.


TheKebbit - Wassily Nuñez [7]:
You give a cheery wave to the small girl, Ilollaeh was it? She looks no older than 12.
Quickly, she ducks behind the ever massive Wan Wan for safety.
Cute. Hope you don't have to fight her, that'd make you feel bad.



CaveCricket48 - Linna [8]:
Linna: "This beast's heart happens to be our target as well. If you want it from us, you're going to have to beat us."
Wan Wan: "Aha! Well, though I am RELUCTANT to attack a-"
Linna: "In a game of Risk!"
Wan Wan: "Game of what."
Linna: "Sculptor guy, make us a game board and game pieces!"
You thrust your hand forward, finger pointed triumphantly, as Wan Wan looks thoroughly confused and Laeh clutches her broom.
Matt: "Aha!"
Matt then claps his hands together, and a large square block of stone juts up out of the ground. Another clap, and a series of lines appear in the top surface of the stone block, forming a board face. A third, and one of the edges of the block falls off, crumbling as it goes. You then reach down and grab some of the chunks, and they've turned into various simple geometric shapes, representing the various pieces. This will do nicely.
Urstrig huffs loudly, displeased at the pilfering of stone from the burial mound, but not too badly.
Linna: "Well then Mr. Wan Wan. Ready to play a game?"

Appearance: A young woman that seems a bit thin but stands on a sturdy pair of legs. Her short dark hair is still long enough to nearly cover her eyes that are already concealed behind thick glasses, making it difficult to read her expression.


maart3n - Mikey/Heph [4]:
You think it maybe just needs to get... woken up. You try another Life Shock, but this time the energy just travels up the arm and into Al's torso, diffusing there. No real result.
Hrm. This is getting aggravating. As you're muttering a bit, Dunrim walks over, having seen your problems with Al's arm.
Dunrim: "So uh, odd idea but... I think I can maybe make a bunch of Life energy. Would that help?"
Mikey: "Sure worth a shot."
Dunrim then nods, and slides a finger across his right thumb. A thick line of red appears and very quickly blooms into a strong stream of blood, flowing from his finger onto his other hand, pooling as he cups the vital liquid. That's... a bit grim.
Then suddenly, the pool of blood lights up in your eyes, going a beautiful pale green-gold. The same color as Life energy! Did he just... convert his blood into Life? Well, THAT'S a neat trick for sure. It looks unstable though, you need to work fast.
Taking hold of the mass of surprisingly dense energy, you pull it out and guide the small glowing ball directly into Al's shoulder. It glows brighter for a moment, then sinks into Al's flesh, absorbed without issue. After that, it's a simple matter to shape the energy a bit, having it spread out all over Al's wounds. Then, you release the energy and let it sink into the flesh properly. Immediately, you can realize you can feel the pulse of Al's body through his hand, and he clenches his fingers to confirm. Then he starts inhaling sharply and waving his hand violently, smacking it against his leg a bit as well. Odd, but there's no screams, so it's probably fine.



CrazyMLC - Matt Sterling [6]:
Linna: "This beast's heart happens to be our target as well. If you want it from us, you're going to have to beat us."
Wan Wan: "Aha! Well, though I am RELUCTANT to attack a-"
Linna: "In a game of Risk!"
Wan Wan: "Game of what."
Linna: "Sculptor guy, make us a game board and game pieces!"
Linna points at Wan Wan excited, and you suppose that's your cue.
Matt: "Aha!"
You clap your hands together, drawing on your Stoneworking power to draw up a solid block of stone, similar to a really basic table, about 2.5 feet on each side. Clapping again, you Stonecarve lines into the table, marking the very rough outlines for all the regions in Risk. It's not the prettiest, and you're pretty sure most of these countries aren't this... blobby, but it works. Finally, you'll need pieces. With a third clap, you shear off a thin slice from one of the blank side faces, and have it crumble into small circular, triangular, and square prism shapes. Linna picks up a handful and gives a nod of approval, then sets them on the board and faces off with Wan Wan again.



Events: Wan Wan: "...Risk? What is Risk? A game, correct? I have never heard of it."
Wan Wan puts on his best puzzled face as he looks at the board. It takes him a bit, but recognition finally dawns, and Linna's smile brightens. A challenger approaches!
Wan Wan: "Aha! This is the world! I have SEEN IT before, on a globe!"
...
Linna realizes this may have been a mistake.
Wan Wan: "That is your Risk, correct? Then I have DEFEATED it! Success, as expected of Wan Wan!"
Laeh besides him sighs gently, but doesn't make any move to correct him. With no-one correcting him, Wan Wan proceeds forward happily around the Risk table block.
Wan Wan: "Then, since I have won, the HEART is mine! This is EXCELLENT, I was fearful it may be some sort of MENTAL CHALLENGE! Believe it or not, Wan Wan is not as UNSTOPPABLE on the field of wits as he is on the field of the SWORD!"

Wan Wan: "Ah, you as well!"

Wan Wan: "Haha! To WIN of course! It is all a contest, a battle! To be the STRONGEST and BEST! Every advantage and resource is vital! Even if for nothing else than to make sure your OPPONENTS do not get it!"

"And he wouldn't accept my offer of a drink, either. It's like he doesn't trust me." Li sighs.

Give my blood-drained and weakened comrades sausages to help them regain their strength.

"What about you?" she asks the witch with a smile. "Do you want a drink? I'm the embodiment of food and snacks!"

"She's not lying," Al smiled softly. "She can make just about anything you can think of eating...within reason, I suppose. I doubt she could make a literal chocolate planet."

Flex my arm and get the numbness to go; keep smiling, stay friendly and keep the situation nice and calm till we are battle ready.

HK you forgot to remove my Heal Drain.

> Sigh.

"The game does not start with winners or losers - it is a board game, no previous victory or loss carries over to the current game. The game works by all players alternating placing a single soldier in an open territory -"

> Demonstrate by placing a soldier unit into the Florida region.

"And now, you go, and then I go, until every territory has a single unit. Then, the game begins in a turn-based strategic conquest for the game-board-world."

> Gesture to Wan to go, glance at the witch girl if Wan doesn't go.