D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad

With the information that Kat’s fans could be retrieved from a distance the arguments against leaving it behind fell away. Gareth pulled up another wall, this one only shoulder height, to corral the writhing instinct so they could pass it without fear. Once the wall was up, the party started to shimmy through the small gap. Gareth had a little trouble with his armour, but everyone else had plenty of space. Kat had a slightly more difficult time because of her wings, but it was still very easy. Kat even managed to acquire Lily once again during the process. The Memphis hardly stirred during the transfer… but she did purr softly for a few moments once back in Kat’s arms.

Once everyone was past the stone, ’Ted’ tried to return to his place at the front of the party but Gareth put a firm hand on ’his’ shoulder and pulled ’him’ back. ”I believe that in a cave without any turns or splitting paths you need not risk yourself leading us.”

*Hmm… I see that Gareth is treating ’Ted’ as if they’re not time but a real person in their own right. I suppose in terms of the Tournament it is best to go along with the act… though I wonder why Thyme didn’t make further effort if that was truly the intention? It’s not like any effort was made at all to hide the fact that ’Ted’ is a dryad.* 

Of course, Gareth couldn’t hear Kat’s internal commentary and continued speaking, now addressing the rest of the group. ”So, after action report. Considering Kat is new, I want to hear everyone’s thoughts now and not when we make camp. Don’t make this just about Kat now, in fact we can save her stuff for last. For now, how did everyone think they did?”

Nixilei cleared her throat and spoke first, ”I think I have further determined the need for a proper ranged weapon, or something other than a dagger. While it did make it so I could heal Green immediately, and healing should always be my priority, I had to just stand there while Kress tried to protect me at the start when I really should have been doing something. Maybe a buckler?”

”You say that nearly every time Nix,” said Green with a pout. ”Every after action report you talk about how you could have done more, but whenever we try to get you an additional weapon it’s always, ’do we really have the money’ or ’I don’t have the time to learn that right now…’ can’t you just accept healing magic needs a lot of time and effort to keep up with? Not to mention your other jobs or your dagger training. It’s FINE Nix.”

”I disagree, but understand your complaints,” said Nixilei succinctly.

Gareth just sighed at the byplay from the two, having heard almost the same argument four dozen times. Deciding to hop in before it spiralled at all he said, ”Well I certainly failed with that rock wall. I simply reacted instinctively and while Kat did well with it, something we’ll get to later, it was a mistake on my part to waste so much of my mana summoning a wall to block something I KNEW ate rocks.

”That being said… the reaction was still a good one, and in most situations would be the correct choice of action at out level. At higher levels the wall would be stronger, and likely still correct. I am unsure if, despite the fact it was a bad call, I should endeavour to do anything about it. It really does seem to be a worthwhile reaction. Simply training reaction speed might be the only option.”

”Speaking off not changing things,” said Green cheerily, ”despite getting that cut, I believe I did the correct thing. I traded what is, with Nix’s help, a minor injury, for a fairly major blow.”

Kress jumped in next, ”I think we should have discussed Gareth’s actions a bit more, but Green, I think you made a mistake with that trade. At the time, you didn’t know boosting the cutting edge with your wind would be enough to cut through the blades at all. While it DID work out, and I agree it was an acceptable trade, the fact you didn’t test it out a bit was a needless risk. You simply went for it… and after seeing that Kat failed to cut through the chitin with significantly more strength I think it was the wrong move,”

”I have to back Kress up on this one,” added Nixilei with no hesitation agreeing with Kress. It seemed they were all able to be professional when it was called for. Despite Kress’ attitude last time, he didn’t cause problems during combat at all. ”The fact you didn’t even test your idea a bit really is a problem. You need to test these things in the future.”

Green pouted and looked towards Gareth for support, but he shook his head. ”Sorry Green I think they are right on this one. It was worth it, I’m not going to deny that. With Kat on the other side of the wall and no great idea of how long it would take to get her back in the right, or knocked out of it you had to take a chance at crippling the enemy somehow. It was the right call, but it wasn’t a perfect call. That’s the whole point of this. It’s not to point out what you did wrong, but how we can do better… and you really could have done better in a simple way. Testing. Now, can we return to my wall?”

”I have no real complaints about it. Kat used the wall exceptionally well, the instinct is a good one to have, and even if the insect was able to get through it quickly it still delayed it slightly, perhaps just enough for Kress and I to get away. While perhaps there were better options, I can’t think of any off the top of my head. You didn’t need to be doing something else, and you didn’t run out of mana during the fight. It was a good choice,” said Nixilei.

Kress made a so-so gesture, ”While I don’t necessarily disagree with Nixilei, a second round of shrapnel from the ceiling could have become another issue. I don’t really know if Kat freezing it made things better or worse, but if there was a bit more power behind some of those chips it could have done some damage. Just one to the back of the head, or a chip on a weapon.”

”I’m not sure the shrapnel was that much of a risk…” said Green with a frown on her face as she skipped along. ”the wall wasn’t too thick and none of the little pieces that big. The speed that would be needed to potentially cause damage would require effort on behalf of the worm thing. I don’t think just breaking through the wall could have caused enough speed.”

Gareth tapped his chin a few times as he took in the feedback. ”I suppose. I see both sides here… I guess I’ll have to keep it in mind. Perhaps run a few test once this round is over so we have time to test everything thoroughly. I personally do not know how fast the rock would need to move to cause damage… and even if it was just a bit distracting, in a fight that could still be potentially fatal so its something to bear in mind.”

With that, everyone turned their eyes to Kress who looked up at the ceiling before dropping his head. ”Frankly, I think I did everything correctly. I took up guard while watching the situation unfold, I took Green’s place attacking when I could, and I was the reason Kat moved forward to attack the first centipede, she would have just stayed in place otherwise.”

”It could be argued that was the wrong call though,” said Nixilei with a slight hint of tension to her words.

Kress shrugged his shoulders, ”Better that she move than do nothing.”

Gareth and Green glanced at the two but didn’t interrupt. ”Well unlike you, Kat could probably take a hit from the thing, perhaps you should have been the one to move up,” said Nixilei with a raised eyebrow Kress thoroughly ignored, keeping his eyes forward.

”Maybe… Nix…” Nixilei scowled at Kress’ use of Green’s nickname for her, ”but Kat’s fast, at least comparable to Green… and as much as it pains me to admit, I’m not their match when it comes to speed. Perhaps you are right and I should have been the one to move up… but on the other hand, I couldn’t have moved fast enough to react to the second bug like Kat. The speed factor is not something you can overlook.”

Nixilei glared at the back of Kress’ head but Gareth cut in before more words could be exchanged. ”We can go over that during Kat’s section. Is there anything specifically about Kress’ actions and only Kress that we can cover right now?” Gareth’s answer was silence.. As annoying as Kress could be, and as incompetent as he seemed last time around, Kress new how to fight a monsters just as well as the rest of them, if not better than some.