Well, you were on the road when a girl ran you over. She didn't stop at all, but a piece of parchment flutters next to you. It turns out to be a map to a cave full of ingredients.
Whether you follow her or the map, you eventually reach the entrance of a cave where a monk and a salesman set up camp next to its mouth. It was the salesman that introduces himself first.
"Ah, more adventurers, I see. This cave has many names, though it's full name is the Magical Abyssal Pizza Cave." The salesman shrugs as you probably have questions about its name. "Anyway, this cave has a host of food-based creatures inside, and the deeper one goes, the more luxurious these creatures become. Of course, that also means the better ingredients become better hunters, so quite a few adventurers that gone in haven't gone out for a while..."
"But enough about them, let's talk about you. The name's Mr. Stiff, and I am interested and invested in seeing how far you can get in this Pizza Cave. Now, perhaps I would get to know the names of my...business partners?"
((Okay, if I sent Meggy here, everyone in this thread's world will die the moment she sets foot in that cave. I ain't subjecting you to that fate. Side note, this looks fun.))
"The name's Heather," An Asian hottie replied. "The blonde hippie next to me is Dawn."
"Greetings," Dawn said.
"Splendid!" Mr. Stiff waved at the entrance, handing the girls walkie-talkies. "I would be pointing out a peculiar gate that is here and inside as well, but a girl ran in not long before you all arrived. And that's were the partnership comes in!"
"I'll be providing a finder's fee for any ingredients you find as well as any adventurers you rescue. And before you think I am cheating you, I might not find buyers and the adventurers might opt to leave and not buy my wares, so you are locking into a deal. Though my recommendation is to look deeper for one of these gates to study!"
The priest nodded. Mr. Stiff introduced him. "Oh, and my friend here can exorcise anything he comes across. Sadly, that includes flavors and sometimes people, but he's good at relieving any ailments if he's nearby."
"The salesman is legit," Heather, one who is knowledgeable in manipulation, said. "What do you think, Dawn?"
"Hmm..." Dawn examined the walkie-talkie. "Interesting how this device allows for nearby communication..." Dawn looked around. "If my aura sense is correct, judging by the guy's claim, I've a feeling the girl he mentioned isn't too far from here."
"Rrrright... Well, we should head into the gate now. Anything else you want us to know before we head in?"
- "Baduba" - a green-skinned orc girl with the physique of a barbarian, but in a thief's costume, called herself.
- "Everything you said is very interesting, of course, but I have a few questions. What are the ingredients and what do they look like? What is pizza? And most importantly, how big is the reward?"
(08-16-2023, 04:46 AM)Bound cat Wrote: [ -> ]- "Baduba" - a green-skinned orc girl with the physique of a barbarian, but in a thief's costume, called herself.
- "Everything you said is very interesting, of course, but I have a few questions. What are the ingredients and what do they look like? What is pizza? And most importantly, how big is the reward?"
Heather raised her eyebrow.
Is that girl with the McDonald's jingle-sounding name for real?
"I can easily answer the second question," Dawn replied. "A pizza is basically a flatbread topped with seasoned tomato sauce and shredded cheese, along with other toppings of your choice. As for your other questions, I think that's what we'll find out once we cross that bridge."
"Well, I will admit that it has been a while since I've been in the cave myself, so I'll give you the numbers when you find a Quality Gate inside. And for the ingredients, well, everything in there counts though some aren't easy to eat raw." Mr. Stiff replied as he handed a walkie-talkie to Baduba. "Well, go on, those ingredients aren't going to harvest themselves."
"Right. Come on, Dawn. Come on, McDonalds. Let's see what this cave is all about." Heather said. Heather and Dawn soon made their way to the gate leading into the cave itself.
- "McDonald's?" - Baduba asked in bewilderment, distracted from pleasant thoughts about a delicious flatbread with various toppings. She attached a walkie-talkie to her thieves' belt and joined the other two girls.
I have a feeling this one ain't bright, Heather thought.
There is no gate but the girls checked out the cave anyway. Seems like a regular cave so far, but there is a stone statue not too far from the entrance. It's of a girl who seems to be caught in surprise.
"Yep," Dawn said in a deadpan tone of voice. "She really didn't go too far."
"How would you know?" Heather asked.
"A statue doesn't normally exhibit an expression that isn't stoical." Dawn then looked around. "Keep your eyes peeled."
- "You don't have to worry about being caught off guard. After all, I am a specialist in detecting traps." - Baduba said in a confident voice, although she wasn't really that sure. Just in case, she carefully scanned the cave for traps, enemies, or ingredients.
"I wouldn't be so sure if that was the result of a trap," Dawn said. "I think something like a Gorgon might've caught her."
Heather scoffed. "Please. There are no such things as Gorgons."
But a Cement Slime leapt at Heather, with two more rolling into fray.
((It is essentially a wet ball of cement wearing a hard hat.))
"Ahhh!!" Not really expecting the attack, Heather wound up getting splattered by the cement slime.
"Hmph." Dawn jumped to the right, then fired off three ki blasts from her right hand, targeting the cement slime. "Baduba, whatever you do, do not make physical contact with the slime. If you have anything you can throw, do that instead."
- "What the..." - the green-skinned girl jumped to the side opposite from the Dawn and, picking up the first stone from the floor of the cave, threw it at the cement monster. Her thieving skills left much to be desired, but all physical indicators were on top.
The two slimes were dealt with. The third slime...had completely encased Heather and turned her into a stone statue.
"Okay, it's just concrete coating; no big deal. I'll take care of that later." Dawn decided to target the third slime, firing ki blasts at it.
- "Slimes. I hate the damn slimes!" - Badula muttered and walked over to the statue that Heather had turned into to get a better look at her. First of all, she was interested in whether the girl could breathe