WLC 6.6: Over The Hill

What a lovely tribute to our beloved sun goddess.

We painted a new Shiranui zodiac piece this year featuring all the brush god constellations!

(Shiranui themself is in front of the Hanagami, but we did paint them. They're still there. It counts)

WLC 5.A: Make Out of Dodge

The two continue to stare into the vast cosmic tapestry above them.

"I'd have thought a mortal would have seen this before," says Angustias.

Jevoi shakes her head. "We don't have stars down under."

"Aren't you from the Sesbia Archipelago?" Angustias tilted her head to the side.

"No, Inner Glow," says Jevoi, "My nana is from Sesbia, but I hatched in a crappy goblin town called Rankedge." She suddenly looks about nervously. "Eh, where are you from?"

"Brutalidad, Sathanica," says Angustias, "It's a city in Hell." She looks down to the stars below. "More like a big fort, honestly. Completely underground too, obviously."

L: Right, at the edge of the eternal war? A: The very same.

"What brought you here?" asks Jevoi, "I'm here from fighting a ghost."

"My cousin-" Angustias tries to say, but is cut off by the sudden intrusion of Luminița, and a spider crab making out, blindly throwing themselves through a nearby door.

L: Tell me more.

"Let's find somewhere else," says Jevoi, annoyed. She opens another door in. "Is this cor-"

Lurentooz has Tanglepork's head lodged into her mouth. The sheriff's body, half-undresses, twitches and kicks. Magic shifts between the duo. Lurnetooz eyes release purple sparks before her pupils break through, staring at the intruder. She attempts to speak, lifting her arm defensively. "Ah kahn ehkslayn."

"Don't bother." Jevoi shuts the door. She turns around, but Angustias has left. Dejected, Jevoi returns to her room to sleep; her knife not far from her hand.

D: You just left her? A: There's more to the story. Hold on.

WLC 5.B: Slippery When Wet

Jevoi awakens slowly. Her body greatly resists separation from the bed, adhering itself to it like honey. With considerable effort, she rises.

The cabin's shower is pleasant and its water warm. As she cleans her scales, Gank keeps watch on the cabin. The ship's distractions may not avail the lawgnome's thievish intent.

There had been no disturbances during the night, or whatever could be considered night in space. Does time even flow here in this outer void?

'She's here,' thinks Gank, 'Keep the water on.'

Jevoi slips silently back into the cabin's other room. Despite the door out still being shut, Jevoi can clearly see the gnome searching her things. Naked, but armed, Jevoi sneaks closer.

Tanglepork suddenly turns around, gun drawn. "Walked right into this, Kiddo," she says, "Where's it at?"

"Where's what?" asks Jevoi.

"Don't be coy~, Jevoi~," sings Tanglepork, "The faeriedust: where is it?"

"You think I'm some addict?" snarls Jevoi, still dripping wet, "Why would I have that?"

"You make it?" Tanglepork's voice carries sarcastic confusion. "I'm the one keeping my overzealous deputies from undoing your mommy."

"Cretin," yells Jevoi, "You have done my mum!"

"Every woman in town has done your mommy," Tanglepork rolls her pretty little eyes, "Regardless, you need to pay your taxes~."

"I'm not bribing you," says Jevoi, "How did you even get in here?"

L: I wish.

A: She doesn't pay taxes?

J: That's not- can we focus here?

"I asked Lurentooz for the key." Tanglepork holds up a purple tendril-esque key; it squirms in her hand. "Even out here, the law is abided."

WLC 2.8: Violence at Last

L: Several hours of ups and downs and all arounds (mostly downs) later and we'd arrived at Hairy Scary Rock: a twenty meter tall stalagmite which stands in a massive chamber.

"That is an ugly rock, says Maraja, "Its shape is... yonic?"

"Stop gawking and keep moving," says Ling, "We can't stop here."

"Why?" asks Maraja, condensing vapor for her to drink, "What's here?"

"Stop using that spell," Ling pulls a bottle out of her little magic pouch, "Use this."

J: Always with the bottles, Mum. L: Hydration👏 is 👏 important!

"What's the harm?" Maraja continues using her spell almost spitefully. "And what's here?" she asks again, irate.

The ground begins to shake. Ling seethes, "Creatures that are drawn to changes in the air and water." The rumbling nears.

"Iss thhat a giant worm?" Kalyani readies her staff as the tremors intensify.

"Giant worm," Ling nods.

D: Giant worm!? L: Giant worm.

On command, the giant worm bursts from the ground. It's thick dark grey hide etched with purple scars. It is about twenty-four meters long and three meters wide. It's open maw spews forth purple goo which the trio scatter to dodge.

"Strewth, a purple-stuffy!" shouts Ling, "Watch it, that goop is highly basic."

D: What does basic mean? L: Usually it means it's slippery and can burn you very badly.

Maraja draws her sword and readies herself, as the beast slides along the ground. She dodges its maw as it lunges and cleaves her blade through its side. A mix of blood and goop bleeds from the writhing mass. She resists the urge to blast the slime away with water.

Kalyani dodges the worm's venomous stinger tail and fires a bolt of electricity into it. This barely phases it. "Any idea what it'ss weak to?" she asks.

"No idea," says Ling, pulling a tuning fork from her pouch, "But I got this!"

As the creature lunges at the wizard, she slaps it in the side of its face with the fork while rolling past it. The worm's jaw spasms and it begins convulsing.

L: I call that spell "Nervous Veer"; it disrupts the target's nervous system, redirecting body commands all over the place. Try to bend your arm and twist your foot instead.

Maraja runs forth and brings her blade down upon the creature's slack-jawed face. The creature brain oozes out of it's open head. The body continues to squirm about.

D: EEEWWW!

"Shhield your eyess," shouts Kalyani, as she lights the entire area it occupies in holy flames. "BURN! DIE! BEGONE!" In a blink, it's roasted. A bitter aroma fills the air.

In the calm, the trio reunite a safe distance from the corpse.

"Anyone harmed?" asks the priestess, "Do you need aid, dearss?"

"Clean as I came in."

"I'm fine, but- Gross, it's so sticky," says Maraja, using a cloth to wipe her sword clean. "Why was that thing here?"

"These are their breeding grounds," says Ling, preparing to rant.

Maraja began marching suddenly. "Let's get the hell out of here."

"F*****g right" says Ling, suddenly calm again, "We can roast your a**e later."

Game Manual 1.5

The game manual post had some technical difficulty, so I split it. If the prior post is hidden, it's because tumblr is labeling "mature" likely by auto error.

The Japanese manual, for reference.

WLC 2.C: DistrAction

The two duos, one metal-clad, the other leather, approach each other across the black sand.

L: By the way, they are Gish and her brother, Gash. They never told me their names; Melandria did.

D: Spoiler.

L: What? You should already know I talk to her; that's the whole point of the story!

"Why are you out here?" asks Gish.

"Where do you think you are?" asks Gash.

"Both questies: we're lost in the Underdank," says Ling, she gestures for Kalyani to answer.

"Quite," says the priestess, "If you could point uss in the directshion of the nearesst town, we'd apprecciate it."

"That symbol," says Gash, "That eyeball you're wearing... What manner of follower are you?"

"Do you know it, brother?" asks Gish. She reaches for her sword, but before she draws it, Gash answers.

"That's the Love God's Eye," he says, "So how do you serve her?"

"Oh, you know her?" asks Kalyani, fluttering her eyes. She slithers toward Gash. "Are you a follower too?"

"Brother," Gish voices tings with annoyance.

"Let him have some fun, mate," says Ling, scampering up to Gish, "Yous two alone out here?"

J: I should have known. You're a wizard, Mum; don't you have stories about succeeding through... you know, wizardry?

L: Magic isn't the only answer to problems, Jevoi.

"No, we-" Gish cuts herself off, "Why are you really here? What do you think you're doing?"

"What do you want me to do?" asks Ling, still sauntering forward. Lacking the ability to flutter, she quickly licks her eyes instead. At the moment, she has no idea where this will lead, but it is succeeding as a distraction.

Gish takes a step backward. Out of the corner of her eye, she spots Kalyani encircling Gash.

"Perhapss, we've not been honesst," whispers Kalyani, "The Goddesss ssent uss."

"Somebody needs our help," says Ling, "Is it ya?" Ling gets up to Gish's faceplate. "A big strong woman like you shouldn't be alone."

"I- I'm not," says Gish, "My brother and I-"

"Brother doesn't count, mate," says Ling, now fully confident, "Let's see those eyes of yours." Ling places her hands on Gish's helmet, who does not resist. Ling carefully remove it and looks upon Gish's battle-scarred tallgoblin face. "Looks like ya had some bark taken off, eh?" Ling gently traces her claw down the diagonal scars; they clearly came from a claw attack.

Gish face contorts. "Would- would you like to see," she says, struggling to keep her strong warrior demeanor, "My other ones?"

"I'd love to," says Ling.

L: Long story short: they let us into the tower and we kept them distracted for a bit.

WLC 2.D: The Shadow Queen

A few hours after having entered the tower, Ling realizes that her split party never established an exit strategy, nor a means of communication. For a wizard, this is an embarrassing oversight.

Getting her things together, Ling attempts to sneak through the dark halls, but is quickly grabbed by a shadow and dragged into a new location.

Ling now stands in a decently decorated throne room. Crystal sconces and chandelier shine faint light. A lovely carpet stretches from the large door behind her to the cushioned throne ahead. Barely visible to Ling, sits the Shadow Queen; an usually pale busty elf-like being in a black slit dress with opera gloves. Her long curly hair is intricately woven.

"G'day," says Ling, "Mind giving a light?"

"Why are you in my house?" ask the Shadow Queen as the darkness in the room thickens, "Explain yourself."

"Ya got it," says Ling, leaning her body slightly, "I'm a scholar and I came to propose a business venture to ya."

"And you came alone?"

"...No," says Ling, "Had a friend, a priestess of Vanessa."

"Just one?" The Shadow Queen rocks back and forth, "Don't lie to me."

"I'm not lying."

Claws take form amongst the darkness and lunge at Ling. She skitters away. She rolls and hops about away from the constant barrage. Ling pulls rock from her bag and charms it to shine brightly. The shadows recede and the Shadow Queen growls.

J: We know her name's Melandria; stop calling her the Shadow Queen.

"You think that parlor trick will save you," she yells as the shadow limbs long steel polearms and bows and arrows. The solid weapons are unimpeded by Ling's light and force her to continue dodging.

As she dodges, Ling gets a better look at the elf-esque being. Her ears are small and round. If her hair wasn't black, Ling would assume she was albino.

"Who does your hair?" asks Ling, skittering up the wall desperately avoiding arrows... or at least, looking desperate. "Is it dyed?"

L: Obviously, I cast a wind shield as soon as I had seen the bows.

"What? Yes, but- No one, I d-" Melandria stops herself, "Stop talking to me, you, weird lizard."

"Gecko, actually," says Ling jumping into Melandria's face, "So what are you?"

The woman on the throne pauses, as do her weapons. The gecko's eyes are fixated on something just under her eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Got to be blunt, mate," Ling shakes her head, "You look sick."

"It's a skin condition," says Melandria, "I'm al-"

"Albino, I figured," says Ling, "But that's not it. Ya're malnourished, starving even." She grabs Melandria's hand. "What have ya been eating?"

Melandria pulls her hand away and conjures a piece of bread. "I have plenty of food. I'm strong enough to feed myself."

Ling pulls a potato out from her pouch. "Eat this."

Melandria balks at the tuber.

"I'm a doctor," says Ling before Melandria can speak, "If ya've only been eating mana manna, ya're going to rot away inside out."

Melandria warms the potato and rips it open. With a conjured fork, she begins eating.

"First saw this back at wiz school during the Great War," says Ling, "Spellies eating their own mana's no healthier than eating their own skin. And that's true even for one's that know healthy eating." Ling watches Melandria shovel food into her mouth. "Which most don't."

"Name's Melandria and I'm human," she says in between bites of food, "Since you asked."

"From the surface, eh?" Ling smiles. "My mum's from there."

Mimikyu looks like a little gift bag.

Ghost Type Pokemon Trainer Dizzy and Her Ace Mimikyu!

for a colab ^_^

WLC 2.5: To the Underdank!

The two blessed women approach the house of Dr. Ling. The nagi priestess, Kalyani, wearing a leather jerkin and cloth shirt, and the undine champion, Maraja, clad in her armor, both carry the vertical eye icon of Vanessa; Kalyani's on a pendant and Maraja's on her shield.

"Are you sure this is the place?" asks Maraja at the sight of the windowless brick building, "And where is this hole?"

"Look at the ssign," says Kalyani as she points to the plaque by the door, "Food Wizzard; thhiss musst be herss."

Before they can knock, the door swings inward, "G'day, mates," says the gecko clad in dark leather armor and a new (equally ratty) wig, "Ready for the Hole?" She pats the small bag tied to the base of her tail. "Ya do have supplies, right?"

"Yess, dear," says Kalyani, who points to a large bag sitting on the floating disc behind her, "Tent, food, water, sspell sstavess, everythhing we'll need."

"Where's your's, wavey?" asks Ling, eyeing the champion.

"I'm so grateful that you are both taking this seriously," says Maraja, "But don't we have enough?"

L: Can you believe that? Sheila's on the quest unprepared, but the nun's ready in a day.

"Ya ever been to the Underdank?" asks Ling, "There's barely any water, the temperature alternates between extremes, and everything edible is poisonous, ravenous, and/or explosive."

"That-"

"And further on are the gravity waves and seismic shifts, so the whole thing can rearrange while you're down there."

"I unde-"

"And the b*****ds living there: orc barbarians, Vrow huntresses, dweorg slavers, kobold pranksters-"

"I GET IT!" shouts Maraja, "Everything is deadly and terrible, but I can make water." She raises her sword and says, "And I can handle monsters." She swings and points it. "If you can guide me through the caves."

L: I knew it was going to be a hard quest, this one.

"Sister," says Ling to Kalyani, "Anything to say?"

The priestess shakes her head and the two head toward a blue dome about fifty meters away. The champion races after them.

Stationed there stands a smallgoblin in blue leather. His gaze is unfocused as he chews on the end of a wooden stick, its tip alight. The sound of footsteps drags his attention back to reality. "'Ello, Ling," he says, dry.

J: Is that how Mr. Snarbly was back then? L: People tend to be happier not standing near a death pit for eight hours a day. J: I'm glad he quit then. You taking his job at least made someone's life better.

"G'day, Bob," says Ling, expectantly waiting for the guard to open the gate.

He grasps the twig between a pair of fingers. "Reason for leaving?" His voice remains unemotive.

"Right," says Ling, "Different today. On a rescue." She jerks her head toward Kalyani. "There with me."

"Morning, Bobbobo," says Kalyani, as Maraja catches up, "May we pass?"

"Time to return, Sister?" He returns the twig to his mouth.

"Dunno," says Ling, "Maybe days."

Bobbobo claps the fingers of his right hand against its palm, then slaps the dome. The magic barrier become translucent revealing a large hole in the ground with a twenty meter diameter. "Be careful down there."

D: Oh, that's the hole outside! L: Yeah, same one. D: What happened to the dome? L: No one's around to maintain it. J: No one's around to fall into it.

"That's the way in?" asks Maraja, "How far does that go?"

"Four hundred metres straight down," recites Bobbobo, "The Township of Rankedge 'olds no responsibility for your safety. It is advised not to enter the Underdank."

"How are we to go down that?" asks the woman in platemail.

Ling wiggles her exposed fingers and toes. "Well, I'm climbing," she says, "But you could ride that disc."

J: Please, tell me she tried that. L: Nah, smart enough to avoid it. J: Shame.

"I do have a few sspellss to sspare," says Kalyani, adjusting her gloves, "The shhrine had thesse sspider glovess in sstorage."

The smallgoblin blinks slowly. "When you return-"

"Ring the bell. I know," says Ling, "We do this every week, Bob."

Loving the crown hat!

Mario Kart World Rosalina ✨🩵