#page 358

[madokamanga]

[beautifulbookishdisaster]

All this time they'd both been drowning, and thinking the other was gloating at them from the shore.

R. F. Kuang, Katabasis

[sharry-arry-odd]

Mrs. Corleone herself opened the door and greeted Kay with a warm embrace that surprised her. Then she surveyed Kay with an appraising eye. "You a beautiful girl," she said flatly. "I have stupid sons."

The Godfather, by Mario Puzo

[killcount]

[backlashcomic]

381 - BACKLASH Chapter 6: Invitation

[thestoopgallants]

[itziuh-blog]

Richie, who had barely escaped what might have been a really bad beating at the hands of Henry and his spasmoid friends three months ago (he had managed to elude them in the toy department of Freese's Department Store, of all places).

Stephen King, It

[rapidpixeladventure]

Go left

{[GO]: [LEFT]}

You decide to head deeper into the ruined house, to see what is on the far side of the building.

Instead, you find that a large portion of the wall has fallen away, leading back out into the [Swamp of Tears]

You stop by a [Broken Stone Fountain] in a clearing, the sound of lapping of water makes you stop in your tracks.

A [Massive Green Horned Creature] is drinking from a [Clear Pond] at the base of the broken fountain.

It looks like an [Orbo]… only three times the normal size, and a coat full of moss and knotted with wild flowers. Instead of two clean horns, it has a massive rack of antlers that run down it’s neck and spine. Dozens of tiny [Glow flies] hover around it’s mane, barely visible in the bright morning light.

It notices your presence and stops drinking. It rears it’s head and you can see it’s two glowing yellow eyes towering far above you. The creature emits a few grunts, wiggles it’s ear and then turns around, heading deeper into the swamp at a calm pace.

The encounter almost feels like it didn’t really happen, the strong smell of freshly overturned dirt and blooming followers lingers in the air for a moment before being lost to the breeze. Your eyes almost ache from the piercing glow of it’s yellow eyes. This was not a normal wild animal.

Come to think of it, you have not seen any truly ‘wild’ animals up close yet. The Orbo back at the goblin camp was tame and had it’s trainer nearby, the birds you saw with Cal on the mountain top were through a spyglass.

This is your first real encounter with the wildlife of this land.And what a creature for your first encounter. There was something strange about this creature and you can feel it in your soul.

As you take a moment to reflect on this moment, a sensation of serenity and calm floods your body. You feel… at peace…

You have received a holy blessing from a great spirit. All HP and MP fully restored

{ The Blessed Tears }:

Level [1]: You now receive +1HP and +1MP after defeating an enemy. 

All [Southern Magic] has a temporary bonus in this area.

As the wave of calm passes, you take a moment to observe your surroundings.

The [Broken Fountain] has water being pumped into it still, forming a [Small Pond] and you can’t tell if it is too deep for you to cross or not.

A [Broken Roof tile] lies haphazardly on the other side.The access to the [Second Floor] of the building seems damage and you cannot reach it from the ground at the moment.

The [LEFT] path leads deeper into the Sunken City, and the [Hole] in the wall leads back [IN] to the ruined house.

[STATUS] (NEW!)[QUESTS][MAP]

What Should We Do Now?

Thank you for the amazing year! Let’s have another great year! I couldn’t have done this without your continued support!