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[F13-SP] <<Training your Friend>> Clearing the Outskirts


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It wanted to stay ugly, apparently, and took a great, big swipe at Lummox with its big flabby arms.  His not-mongoose-like reflexes served him poorly and he went flying onto his backside, landing with a painful-sounding thump against a nearby stump.  

Mongoose Rule #1: Don't get hit.

She closed her eyes and shook her head with disappointment.  Scampering beneath the fronds, she emerged behind the stump.  Staring into his dazed and banal brown eyes upside down from above his head, she gave him a quick nudge with her wet nose - stupid fog!  Lummox groaned and pulled himself up just in time to swat the stinky thing away.  While they hacked away at each other, she climbed another nearby tree to get a better vantage point.  Rock.  That would do it.  A quick leap to another nearby branch and scurry down another tree trunk placed her at a large rock, just behind stinky-thing.

Spoiler

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[1] Freyd: 258/285 (-27) | 20/24 (-2 +2) | DMG: 8 | EVA: 0 | MIT: 14 | ACC: 2 | SAV 1 | BLEED 1 | HOLY 1 | KEEN 1 | THORNS 1 -> rested, triggered Keen 1, triggered Savvy 1

 Diseased #4:  80/130 (-10)| DMG: 39 

 

 

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Slinking low to the ground, Persi worked her way behind the loose stone she had spotted from above and shoved it over by a body-length.  Lummox was keeping Stinky-Face occupied with the pointy stick-thing, but caught sight of her as she emerged from behind the zombie.  She paused momentarily, looking back at the rock, then sprinted for cover.

Mongoose rule #2: Use the terrain.

Lummox knocked Stinky-Face to the side just enough to spot the rock and understand Persi's meaning.  Parrying its flabby appendages, he landed a well-placed kick to its chest, sending it tumbling over the stone she had placed for him.  Teamwork at last!  Who said you couldn't teach a biped new tricks?  Lummox pierced the zombie several times with his great 'claw'  before it finally managed to regain its footing.  He should have just lopped off its head, Persi thought.  A mongoose strikes with finality, ending its hunt with a single, critical strike.

Mongoose rule #3: Strike to kill.

Spoiler

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[2] Freyd: 258/285 | 20/24 (-5 +2) | DMG: 8 | EVA: 0 | MIT: 14 | ACC: 2 | SAV 1 | BLEED 1 | HOLY 1 | KEEN 1 | THORNS 1 -> trig REC 1, trig Keen 1, trig Savvy 1

 Diseased #4:  40/130 (-40)| DMG: 39 

 

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(Switching back to Freyd's Perspective)

That worked much better than before.  Freyd was overjoyed... okay, satisfied.  He didn't really do excessive emotion.  Their investment in time and energy was paying off, even if it meant they weren't out there questing.  This would pay dividends in the long term.   A quick slice separated its head from its body.  Persi seemed to approve. 

With each outing, they strayed farther from the safety of the monastery, and... home.  It was strange to even consider this place in that way.  More things always lurked in the shadows, floating in the fog just beyond the edge of sight.  Danger shared made them a better team, because they were willing and able to cooperate.  Freyd struggled to build such bonds with people.  They were either too complex or too simple.  He suspected that they would say the same about him.  And the Gemini had taught him to be wary.  Persi felt safe, by comparison.

Spoiler

image.png.42f0afb3181d9562ebdc11e701c0e874.png

[3] Freyd: 258/285 | 17/24 (-5 +2) | DMG: 8 | EVA: 0 | MIT: 14 | ACC: 2 | SAV 1 | BLEED 1 | HOLY 1 | KEEN 1 | THORNS 1 -> trig REC 1, trig Keen 1

 Diseased #4:  00/130 (-40)| DMG: 39 

image.png.c52cc9a791f56bf6e2591bf557190065.png

Loot:

955 col ([3*hp] + (2x[2*hp] even LD & CD) +5% col stash

 

 

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Persi ran up his back and perched herself on his shoulder.  She nuzzled her nose and whiskers along the side of his face.  Freyd laughed, amused by her reaction to their victory.  It was good to have a friend like her, who treasured the simple things in life.  His mind was too complex, too full of distractions and lost in myriad possibilities.  There were too many fears.  Persistence's purity was her strength.  Her existence gave her simple purpose - focus.  She was courage and the will to act.

He needed that.

Was it fair to ask her to pay that price?  She had what she needed.  Why should she want to come with him?  But she had, hadn't she?  Courage, indeed.  Persi nestled herself tightly.  It was strange to feel warmth from something wreathed in darkness, but there it was. 

Today's hunt wasn't over yet.  He sensed that she wanted to keep playing.  Why not indulge?

Spoiler

image.png.c30bf2ee7b9cf8a8f35fd201c80825d9.png

Training requires CD 7+ roll.  3 of 4 successes.

 

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She'd found a big one.  This thing was over eight feet tall and built like an ogre and a giant and a troll got together, broke the rules and had a baby.  But four arms?  That just seemed like overkill.

"Way to start small!" Freyd said to Persi as she bounded all over the clearing where they'd found the thing.  It didn't even pay her any attention, focusing wholly on him and sending him through a tree with its first strike.  It snapped like a twig.  He kept going.  The second tree was more robust.

Ouch.

He wobbled back to his feet, sword miraculously still in hand and took a moment to get his bearings.  The ogre-thing was still tamping out small flames licking it flesh from his immolation potion. He'd made it a habit to consume on during these outings.  Bringing a teleport crystal along probably wouldn't be a bad idea either.

 

Spoiler

image.png.91f23c67ff4c51a6ca19588f27cee1a1.png

[0] Freyd: 248/285 (-25) | 17/24 (-1 +1) | DMG: 8 | EVA: 0 | MIT: 14 | ACC: 2 | SAV 1 | BLEED 1 | HOLY 1 | KEEN 1 | THORNS 10 -> rested, trig REC 1, trig SAV 1

Diseased #5: HP 120/130 (-10) | DMG: 39

 

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Their next titanic clash bent the boughs of several nearby trees as the force their common impact burst outward.  Freyd struck a meaningful, but not fatal blow, severing one of the monster's arms.  It roared and slammed its three remaining limbs down upon him, unleashing the tremendous concussive blast.  As quick as Freyd had become, the best he'd managed was to partially deflect it.  The system suppressed most of the pain, but his limbs remained numb from the jarring strength behind the impact.

Persi, meanwhile, had scampered onto the things back and was darting back and forth between the two sides of its head.  The beast roared, thinking that two mongooses had crawled upon it and nearly beat itself in the face trying to swat at imagined threats.  Freyd called for her to jump off, in case the landed a solid enough hit to knock the creature on its back.  That much weight would be too much to let land on her.

Spoiler

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[1] Freyd: 221/285 (-27) | 15/24 (-4 +2) | DMG: 8 | EVA: 0 | MIT: 14 | ACC: 2 | SAV 1 | BLEED 1 | HOLY 1 | KEEN 1 | THORNS 10 -> rested, trig REC 1, trig KEEN 1, spent SAV 1

Diseased #5: HP 70/130 (-50) | DMG: 39

 

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The forest floor crumpled with the sound of splintered wood as the hulking beast stepped, then stumbled backwards off-balance.  One of its arms flailed wildly at Freyd while another looked like it was about to hit Persi as she leapt off of the thing's shoulders.  Freyd's reaction was instinctual, and immediate.  Stepping out from an illusory double of himself, he drove the tip of Forgiven Disobedience clear through his enemy.  The strike intended went straight through his double instead.  Angelsong rang throughout the forest as the sword pierced its target and splattered white goo all over the ground behind it, driving it down so hard that it missed Persi completely.

The mongoose, skidded to a stop and rang back over to stand at Freyd's side while he carved the white blade through the ogre-thing, twisting it as he worked to finish it off.  A solid tug ripped it free from the side of its chest, spewing more white blood over the nearest flora.  

Spoiler

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[2] Freyd: 221/285 | 12/24 (-5 +2) | DMG: 8 | EVA: 0 | MIT: 14 | ACC: 2 | SAV 1 | BLEED 1 | HOLY 1 | KEEN 1 | THORNS 10 -> used Disguise (recharge in 3), trig REC 1, spent and re-trig KEEN 1, trig SAV 1

Diseased #5: HP 3/130 (-55 -12 bleed) | DMG: 39 -> Bleed 12 next round

 

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Swinging the blade up, Freyd let its own weight do the work and spun to drive it back down onto the monstrosity's head.  Between that strike and the massive, bleeding wound in its chest, it collapsed into fragmentary data an instant later.  Persi was already prancing and preening about the place where it had fallen, as if she deserved all the credit for the kill.  She'd found and chosen it, after all.  Freyd was praise her for it and speak up about his own efforts, but she had already circled around him, sniffing away at the ground like there might be something else lurking about.  Recalling that the beast had stumbled and sunken on its right side when he knocked it backwards, both of them started looking for a cause.  Persi had already vanished in the underbrush, her dark head and piercing blue eyes surfacing momentarily like a hyperactive periscope - Persiscope? - as the sought her prize.

Spoiler

image.png.3265f1dda55e413e97a0f121b180784c.png

[3] Freyd: 221/285 | 13/24 (-1 +2) | DMG: 8 | EVA: 0 | MIT: 14 | ACC: 2 | SAV 1 | BLEED 1 | HOLY 1 | KEEN 1 | THORNS 10 -> Disguise recharges in 2, trig REC 1, spent and re-trig KEEN 1, spent SAV 1

Diseased #5: HP 0/130 (-8 -12 bleed) | DMG: 39 

EDIT: Ariel clarified that a separate loot roll is required.

image.png.cd703853033532fa132a1f60f2c54f88.png

Loot:

819 col ([3*hp] + ([2*hp] even CD + [1*hp] bonus from loot roll) +5% col stash

2x T1 mats (Odd LD)

1x T1 Rare Trinket

 

Edited by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows
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Persi burrowed frantically as she seize upon a find.  She'd previously proven her knack at finding good hiding spots, but none of them had ever contained anything except previously looted treasure of material spawn points.  Not this time!  Bits of wood, dirt and plants were sailing through the air from where the ogre-thing had punctured the old hunter's blind.  Persi dug away at it frantically clearing the space and allowing Freyd to get a better look.  Tucked away in the back was a sizable chest.  It struck him as odd that it was in remarkably good condition given direct contact with the soil and the constant fog and humidity on this level, but things like that were often overlooked in games.  

Persi, meanwhile, was already into full celebratory pouncing, as if she'd just found a trove of mongoose snacks.  Freyd momentarily pictures a chest full of dead snakes, tossing the idea aside as too gross to deserve any real consideration.

Spoiler

image.png.b6205fa4c18b6f98f8da93d97209b832.png

Requires LD 15+.  Treasure chest found!

 

Edited by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows
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Luck was definitely on their side, this time.  A cursory scan of the chest found no traps of any kind, not that Freyd was particularly trained at such things.  Taking a chance, they opened it.  The contents proved well worth the risk, and seemed a genuinely fitting reward for Persi's growing efforts and cooperation.  

"I'll have to buy her something nice with this," Freyd thought to himself.  The mound of dead snaked popped back into his head, but he dismissed it again, convinced that he could do better.  Collecting their find, the two of them made their way back towards the monastery, eager to celebrate their success.  The sun was already quite low in the sky by the time they reached the walls.  Pausing a moment, just outside the gates, Freyd turned to his companion.

"Thanks, Persi," he said.  "You make this all worthwhile, you know?"  He smiled as she stood on her hind legs and watched him, reminding him of the feline equivalent of a prairie dog every time she did so.  He supposed that she was.

Spoiler

image.png.ef39d732dec23f760bc876965e7005ef.png

Loot:

2047 (Floor * 150) Col +5% for col stash 

(8) T1 materials

1x T1 perfect armor/shield

2x T1 rare consumables

 

Edited by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows
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Freyd thought it best to let Persi indulge in her recent success and to let her take the lead for the next few days.  She had him crawling through every conceivable nook and cranny in the monastery.  They found plenty of good hiding spots, and a disturbingly high number of rats nests that apparently served as her self-replenishing larder.  Pleased as he was that she was dealing with the problem, he would have preferred to remain in the dark on some of the gory details - which she had gleefully demonstrated.

Traffic to the shop had been non-existent, which served his current interests.  It was a front, not meant to draw attention.  The local NPCs left them along, and even the priests that regularly made their rounds avoided this particular location.  He concluded that there must have been a designer 'hold' tag left over the area, reserving it for future use while minimizing the required number of edits to existing programs.

Spoiler

image.png.488a159c7950b80111df0c330035aa0d.png

Training requires CD 7+ roll.  3 of 4 successes.

 

Edited by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows
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Their next outing began at dawn, deliberately.  Persi was not a morning creature, and often seemed sluggish when roused much before noon.  While likely nothing more than programmed physiological response, it could prove a liability and had to be overcome.  Freyd was leading their search for a target this time, and strode purposefully through the woodlands surrounding Angel's Point.  Persi followed behind at a staggered pace, bobbling along from side to side in search of a potential morning meal.  

"Fight first.  Breakfast after."  Freyd's tone brooked no dissent, which was also part of the point.  She had become more familiar and compliant with his instructions during their woodland treks, but still occasionally raced off at inconvenient moments.  Food was the usual culprit.  Today was going to be different, if Freyd could help it.  Her morning stupor could be marshaled to serve their common need.  They soon found a small rise that extended above the usual level of the mists.  There were ruins atop it, and sounds of slow shuffling from within.

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Freyd signalled Persi to go in from the left while he approached along their current line.  His white blade crested the fog like a shark's fin from the water.  Leaping over the low stone wall of what might have once been an isolated house, he spotted a crouched figure instantly recognized as one of the diseased and cleaved into it with a sideways slash.  It screeched and flopped about momentarily before regaining its footing.  It was shorter and scrawnier than most of the others they had previously encountered, until he realized why.  It was a child - a young girl of about twelve judging by her twisted features.  She reminded him of that kid at the end of Season 2 of The Walking Dead, who walks out of Hershel's Barn as a walker.

"Dang.  Some game designer laid it down a bit thick with this one."

Persi was running late to the party, so he pulled out a little party trick and split his image to confuse her while deciding how to proceed.

Spoiler

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[1] Freyd: 281/285 | 21/24 (-4 +1) | DMG: 8 | EVA: 0 | MIT: 14 | ACC: 2 | SAV 1 | BLEED 1 | HOLY 1 | KEEN 1 | THORNS 10 -> rested, used Disguise (recharges in 3), trig REC 1, trig KEEN 1, trig SAV 1

Diseased #6: HP 90/130 (-40) | DMG: 39 

 

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Persi came flying out from the darkness behind the girl and tore at her matted, dirt-encrusted blond hair.  The zombie-child shrieked even louder, tossing the mongoose off the side and managing a swipe at Freyd as well.  Her clawed hands caught him in the arm, but he turned the momentum against her with a swift pommel strike to the head.  The blow produced a sickening crunch when her skull collapsed, exposing the fetid contents.

"Seriously?  How did that get past the censors?!"  Freyd wasn't overly impressed by the gratuitously graphic implementation of this particular mob and wondered whether he'd stumbled into a quest encounter without having picked up the content.  That wasn't normally possible, depending on the game, but SAO broke so many rules that he just chose to ignore it.  Who would he complain to anyway?  He glanced over to Persi to make sure that she was alright.  The mongoose hardly appeared phased.  She was a lot tougher than most would ever consider possible.

Spoiler

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[2] Freyd: 255/285 (-26) | 18/24 (-4 +1) | DMG: 8 | EVA: 0 | MIT: 14 | ACC: 2 | SAV 1 | BLEED 1 | HOLY 1 | KEEN 1 | THORNS 10 -> rested, Disguise recharges in 2, spent and re-trig KEEN 1, spent SAV 1

Diseased #6: HP 40/130 (-40 -10) | DMG: 39 

 

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They circled around each other, neither side gaining advantage over the other.  Persi climbed up the ruined stone walls for a better vantage, distracting the kid as best she could.  Freyd kept Forgiven Disobedience between the zombie and himself.  Its reach was nearly double hers, keeping her at bay.

A quick scan of the home revealed two piles of humanoid bones in the corner.  They looked gnawed on, and were probably meant to represent her parents.  The crumpled remains of a bed lay in a nearby corner, though little more than a mould-covered mattress on a rotten wood frame.  The hut's thatched roof had long since collapsed.  None of the wood frame remained.  Even the floor boards had sunken into the mucky ground.  Fragments of other household contents were strewn about, but none of them appeared worth checking when this fight was over.

"Let's put her out of her misery," Freyd called in the direction where he'd last spotted Persi.

Spoiler

image.png.37fd464654b5d43b5a292e7b8f40c0ae.png

[2] Freyd: 255/285  | 17/24 (-2 +1) | DMG: 8 | EVA: 0 | MIT: 14 | ACC: 2 | SAV 1 | BLEED 1 | HOLY 1 | KEEN 1 | THORNS 10 -> Disguise recharges in 1, spent  KEEN 1, triggered SAV 1

Diseased #6: HP 40/130 | DMG: 39 

 

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Forgiven Disobedience shared their sentiment and began emitting a brilliant white light accompanied by a mourning dirge, Freyd plunged in into the girl's fragile chest and watched her hollow eyes explode in slow motion as she vanished amidst a cloudy haze.  He gave the sign of the cross without even realizing it, catching himself in the final movement.  He wasn't even religious, though his parents had dragged him along to services during the first decade of his life.  Maybe it was the cut of his armor, which so closely resembled the cut of a catholic priests' cassock.  Maybe it just seemed to be the right thing to do.

Shaking some sense back into his head, he found Persi much more alert and checked her over again for signs of injury.  Finding none, he patted her gently on the head as she sniffed at him, likely checking him as well.  It made for a nice team moment, after a rather emotionally gruesome encounter.

Spoiler

image.png.986b06511504dbc2898be651ac835af4.png

[3] Freyd: 255/285  | 13/24 (-5 +1) | DMG: 8 | EVA: 0 | MIT: 14 | ACC: 2 | SAV 1 | BLEED 1 | HOLY 1 | KEEN 1 | THORNS 10 -> Disguise recharged, trig KEEN 1, spent SAV 1

Diseased #6: HP 40/130 | DMG: 39 

image.png.a509a4594f864177f9744f34432ec152.png

Loot:

819 col ([3*hp] + ([2*hp] even LD + [1*hp] bonus from loot roll) +5% col stash

2x T1 mats (Odd CD)

1x T1 Rare Trinket

 

Edited by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows
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It didn't last, of course.  Persi spotted some tasty critter crawling over a nearby rock and dashed after it, eager for her the breakfast that had been previously denied.  Their first kill fulfilled meant that she could now indulge.  Freyd rolled his eyes, knowing full well that there would be little point in arguing the point.  She'd have caught and devoured whatever unfortunate snack she'd set her sights on before he could even find her.  Better to let her enjoy her reward and then to move away from here.  This ruin gave him the creeps.

Heading south, they came across the ruins of another small village.  It reminded Freyd of Angel's Point in the size and style of its buildings and streets, but this place had been overrun.  Diseased roamed the streets in small packs, with the occasional solitary stray.  Most of them appeared contained within the ramshackle walls that surrounded the settlement, and likely marked the edge of an elite area.  

Spoiler

image.png.02c9103e0fa38ef6ee57c4617ec35f21.png

Training requires CD 7+ roll.  3 of 4 successes.

 

Edited by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows
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They followed the edge of the wall to a road and gate.  Hastily assembled barricades blocked access to the town, but Freyd had no interest in going inside without being better prepared.  The interior looked to be for group content.  He and Persi followed the road away from town instead, keeping alert for other threads along the road.  It might lead them back to Angel's Point, and roads were typically safer to travel than the wilds.  Still, they had to be cautious.  A small, overgrown trail led off the main road, a short distance from the barricades.  It led to a stable where travelers might have left their mounts before entering the town.  Such amenities were often common in MMO's.  

Motioning to Persi, he turned his stride and went to investigate, sword out and raised.  She followed closely behind, watching their backs to detect against any unwelcome company.  The lower level of the barn was mostly open, it's protective shutters having either broken of been left that way.

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A light creaking of floor boards was the only warning they received before their assailant came crashing down upon them from the loft.  Somehow, Freyd managed to slash and counter, nearly sunder the thing into two parts in the process.  It managed to inflict a decent gash on his back as its parts were spun around.  It landed with a sickening thud, its legs facing the wrong direction in comparison to its head and torso.  Roaring and biting madly, it advanced toward them again, dragging its still-twitching legs behind it as they sought to gain purchase.  Pulling itself towards Freyd by use of its clawed hands alone, it closed the distance between so quickly that Freyd struggled not to get trapped in a corner by its ferocious charge.  The extensive trail of white blood it left behind told him that he had dealt it a significant blow, but it didn't seem to register with the thrashing zombie currently hell-bent on eating his face.

Spoiler

image.png.62f41b2b3e321d86dfd6a0a0ccf7a9fe.png

[1] Freyd: 258/285 (-27) | 20/24 (-4) | DMG: 8 (+4) | EVA: 0 | MIT: 14 | ACC: 2 | SAV 1 | BLEED 1 | HOLY 1 | KEEN 1 | THORNS 10 -> rested, trig KEEN 1

Diseased #7: HP 48/130 (-60 -10 thorns -12 bleed) | DMG: 39 -> bleed 12 next turn

 

Edited by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows
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Freyd knocked it against a nearby timber column with a heavy swipe from his sword, then impaled it upon the blade before it could cause any more harm.  The lingering bleed from his first, vicious counter finished it off while Persi pulled its nearly severed lower half in the opposite direction.  It was gross, but effective, and the thing vanished into a brilliant puffy cloud a moment later.

Glancing upward was all it took to send Persi scampering up the wood frame to scout the loft and ensure that no more surprises lingered above.  Her shadowy head poked out from the loft's edge mere moment, bright blue eyes staring down at Freyd and confirming that there was little else of interest.

"Good," had added, nodding to her, then nodding towards the door.  Darting along the rafters, she raced down the gate posts and met him at the path leading back to the main road.

Spoiler

image.png.2ad50d21e8d95b95bcf30154085acd1a.png

[2] Freyd: 258/285 | 18/24 (-4 +2) | DMG: 8 | EVA: 0 | MIT: 14 | ACC: 2 | SAV 1 | BLEED 1 | HOLY 1 | KEEN 1 | THORNS 10 -> rested, spent and re-trig KEEN 1, trig SAV 1

Diseased #7: HP 48/130 (-40 -12 bleed) | DMG: 39 

image.png.9b29333a6cb79f18f7b909c45daf7370.png

Loot:

819 col ([3*hp] + ([2*hp] even LD + [1*hp] bonus from loot roll) +5% col stash

2x T1 mats (Odd CD)

1x T1 Rare Trinket

 

Edited by Freyd - The Whisper in Shadows
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