You slide the waitress 3 coppers for the drink which she takes, but she doesn't seem to be reacting to your advances.

Jazz: "5 copper a night."

Drunkard: "You sound really horny. Or maybe you're drunk. Maybe I'm drunk."

The man downs his mug, waves for another, and starts chugging that once he gets it.


________________________________________


You gather up your AM needles and stick them through some quickly made AM pincushion disks, and then cap the ends so you don't stab yourself a hundred times.

Hmm. Comparing Mana casting to Arcane casting. You can definitely feel that they feel different, but you're not really sure how to explain it. Not something that's ever been described in words, you think. It's also not as simple as "use arcane to make AM" either.

Sanoa: "Who's still on the list?"


________________________________________


YOU PUNCH ALL OF YOUR STAMINA INTO THE TREE

YOU THINK YOU... CHIPPED IT A BIT? LIVING TREES ARE PRETTY DAMN TOUGH


________________________________________


Byrnolf: "Uh."

The doll suddenly goes limp.

Byrnolf: "I guess I forgot that."


Ten minutes later and the doll is moving again with its freshly installed regenerating power source - Byrnolf rigs it with masses of conduit like the regular dolls too, along with updating the stuff in its memory stone.

The doll is able to shakily stand on its own now, though it's still expressionless with its expression-capable face. What kind of expressions do turtles make, anyways?

Byrnolf: "Think it needs hair and clothes?"


________________________________________


Approaching the mountain by foot (not that you have any other means of travel), you use the trees and hills to provide cover. It takes some time, but you're able to get close enough to see what's going on without anyone else noticing you.

Guards patrolling the front of what looks like a base built into the side of the mountain. They seem to be on edge, searching the area for something.

Tabi and her constructs aren't in sight anywhere, so perhaps she made it past them somehow.

YOU KEEP TRYING, PUTTING EVERYTHING INTO EACH PUNCH, INCLUDING YOUR BANANAS

YOU THINK YOU UNLOCKED THE ABILITY TO FOCUS BANANAS INTO YOUR PUNCHES

OR MAYBE FOCUS SOMETHING ELSE

FOCUS SOMETHING OR OTHER


________________________________________


You float a rock, and try reeeaaaally hard to "feel" the casting, one with arcane, another with mana.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand

Well, they're both forming what feels like pinches, focus something or others, tendrils, and that basic thing. Still not really sure about the mechanisms behind arcane itself, it's like trying figure out the way your body produces more blood by "feeling" for it.

Sanoa: "What if the nullifier put you there?"


________________________________________


The hair seems to be AM, so that's a relief.

Byrnolf: "I could try to make some, I'm not too shabby with cloth AM. Got any ideas? Also what sort of hair should it have. Are we calling it a boy or a girl? Name?"


________________________________________


Drunkard: "Ay, I'm still in my prime. Gave a band of bandits a sound beating the other day. True story."


You get slid a key with a number on it.

Jazz: "Room number's on the key."

She doesn't seem particularly interested in you, unfortunately. Or maybe you're trying to hard.

You forum your Captivate spirits and tendrils, but the 'detect foreign telepathy' parameter is... Pretty vague. You start losing connection to them by the dozens, so maybe it's working?

Sanoa: "Looks like they have a fail-safe, the tendril detaches when the spirit is modified. I have a few hundred controlled, but they're no longer connected to you."

A few seconds later and you feel mana being drained from you, going into one of your Captivate spirits.

Sanoa: "Got one. I can send instructions through the tendril and the spirit thinks they're your instructions. Takes a bit of effort to get the command right, since it needs to be encrypted in a specific way."


________________________________________


YOU DOUBLE-METABOLIZE, TAKE OUT YOUR LONGSWORD, AND TRY TO FOCUS ATTACK WITH YOUR LONGSWORD PUTTING YOUR ENTIRE BODY INTO A PROPER EDGE-ALIGNED ATTACK

THE SWORD IS NOW EMBEDDED ABOUT A QUARTER OF THE WAY INTO THE THREE

IT'S PRETTY DAMN STUCK


________________________________________


With a nod and a smile, you take the key and, finding some stairs, head up to the second floor, cursing at your lack of pussy for the night.

Finding your room, you head in and close the door, take off most of your clothes, and then slide into the bed for a short nap.





You wake up some time later from a particularly saucy dream and then put on your armor, doing some pushups to pass the time.

Wonder when that team is going to be assembled.


________________________________________


Byrnolf: "Simple girl's clothes, hm."

A few minutes later and the doll has realistic-looking long, black AM hair and a something that looks like a girl's school uniform with a skirt, shirt, and vest.

The doll also seems to be capable of standing on her own now, though her walking is a bit shaky.

Byrnolf: "Think we should teach her things? Maybe how to vocalize, for starters."