Mind Over Matter

Yulia grips the blade of her rapier and draws out her staff, she quickly casts Undermine on the one casting a spell. This does not stop them from casting their own spell which also happens to be Undermine. Yulia feels her own strength draining, but a quick cast of energize counters that and her strength quickly returns, an adrenaline shot sending her physical power into overdrive. Goma is unfortunately too blissed and presumably mind broken to even register the voice's commands, besides the horn is with the rest of her discarded gear.

Yulia backs away as the two Mind Flayers begin to advance and downs a mana potion. She just manages to swallow it before Mind Flayer 2 the spellcaster seemingly, raises it's tentacles, revealing a ringed leech like mouth and out of the mouth comes a psionic wave that slams into Yulia and makes her fall to her knees, clutching her head. Her mana drops significantly from the psionic attack and she struggles to remember where she even is for a few seconds, but recovers just in time to jump back as Mind Flayer 1 grabs for her with it's tentacles. Her jump was instinctual and not well thought out and she lands awkwardly, tripping and falling onto her ass.

Mind Flayer 1 rushes her, but gets stabbed for it's troubles, forcing it to back away. However, before she can get back up Mind Flayer 2 hits her with another psionic attack and she screams and falls onto her back. Her head is pounding. She flips onto her stomach, kneeling on the ground and desperately downs another mana potion as Mind Flayer 1 tries to reach her again. She turns and swings at him with the rapier, keeping him at bay, but she needs to find a way to stop Mind Flayer 2. She's hesitant to employ demonic magic, but the voices want her too and while she could try pelting him with icicles, she knows her mana won't last very long and she needs to use it efficiently. She tosses her last grenade at the two. It's less effective than she hoped, but it does distract them long enough for her to get the spellbook out and use it. A spell fills her mind alongside a rush of demonic laughter and with gritted teeth she casts the spell.

"Blizzard" immediately the cavern is filled with freezing cold, the Mind Flayers are pelted with heavy falling snow and ice. Mind Flayer 1 struggles to try and reach her as the storm rages, Mind Flayer 2 tries to attack her again with it's Psionic Attacks, but the pelting ice keeps him from concentrating. Yulia doesn't feel any downside from using the spell. Even the cold doesn't seem to be bothering her and as the snow and ice build up she can move through it with ease, even as she remembers each **** step taken when she had been on the other end of this spell. She grips her rapier tightly and rushes forward. With the advantage now firmly on her side she easily reaches a distracted Mind Flayer 1 and stabs her rapier through his skull, surprisingly on his **** he simply vanishes. Pain tears through Yulia's skull as Mind Flayer 2 manages to concentrate enough to fire off another psionic attack, but this only stops Yulia for a moment. Her memories of this storm of the things that happened during it galvanize her and she rushes at Mind Flayer 2 with a scream of anguish and hate. She lost an ally before, she's not about to lose another.

She reaches the Mind Flayer before it can manage another attack and in desperation it tries to grab at her with it's tentacles, but it's attempt only meets her Rapier coming the other way. The Rapier stabs into it's leech like mouth and it's tentacles fall limp before it vanishes. Yulia starts to feel sluggish as the adrenaline and energize begin to fail, but she reaches the last Mind Flayer, the one feeding on Goma. It doesn't seem to even be aware of it's surroundings and Yulia tiredly stabs it in the head. It disappears and Goma drops onto the ground, blinking a bit as whatever strange visions she had been experiencing start to fade.

Yulia suddenly drops to her knees. Her weapons feel heavy and even the extra armor plating on her clothes are weighing her down. "I... I'm just... exhausted..." she tells herself, before the actual truth hits her. The curse was atrophy. Her adrenaline and Energize had made it's effects not immediately apparent, but as both wear off it's hitting her hard. Her limbs struggle to work, the weakness she had been cursed with at birth, done away with by the boons of the tower has returned. She forces herself to get up and grab Goma and Goma's stuff, lifting her from the ground and she begins to carry her back through the path. It feels somehow, much easier to return and soon she arrives back in town with Goma, barely managing to stay on her feet.

Isalia and Cherchiel are in fact standing by the tunnel entrance to the Dream and immediately move to help Yulia and Goma as they emerge. Bringing both of them back to Isalia's house to rest.

Mind Flayers

Difficulty: 20

Multiple Enemies +2

Mental **** +10

Undermine +5

Psionic Attacks +10

Touch Attack +3

Mana Drain +5

Mana Potions -5

Keeping Your Distance -3

Grenade -10

Adrenaline -5

Rapier -5

Silver Staff -2

Energize -7

Undermine -7

Blizzard -12

Final Difficulty: -1

Yulia's Roll: 2

Result: Success

(Health: 100%

Mana: 100%

Equipment: Ceramic Beaked Mask, Reinforced Monastic Scapular, standard bra, Standard Panties, 3 poison gas grenades, 3 healing kits, 1 syringe of poison, 1 syringe of adrenaline, 1 syringe of poison antidote, 1 sewing kit, 1 vial of strong aerosolizing aphrodisiac, 8 days worth of rations, 3 two liter water jug, 1 health potion, 5 mana potions, A boar mask, 4 vials of sticky white liquid, Ornate Rapier (-3), 4 arrows, Quiver, God's Favour (Halo. Prevent **** one time), 1 sack of cooking ingredients (Apples), Bone Spear (-1), Demonic Spellbook, Ash's Quiver, 6 charm arrows, Smithing Ingredients (6 steel ingots), 1 sack of cooking ingredients (Vegetables), Grenade Launcher, Empty Bandolier, Silver Staff (-2 added to the effect of all spells), Spidersilk gown, Smithing Ingredients (3 silver ingots), 10 silver throwing knives, twenty feet of Spidersilk rope, 1 sack of Cooking Ingredients (Fish), an Onahole, Curing Stone.

Spells known: Great Heal (Lvl 2, Mastered, Cost: 25%)

Great Cure (Lvl 2, Mastered, Cost: 15%)

Energize (Lvl 1, Mastered, Cost: 25%)

Icicle (Lvl 1, Mastered, cost: 15%)

Unlock (Lvl 1, Unmastered, Cost: 15%)

Repair (Lvl 1, Mastered, Cost: 5%-20% depending on factors)

Undermine (Lvl 1, Mastered, cost: 25%).

Life Drain (lvl 1, unmastered, cost: 5% per 1 Hp healed)

Blizzard (Unmastered, cost: 10%)

Fetish: Bondage Rank: 2, Masochism Rank: 1, Lesbian rank: 1, Submission Rank: 1

Status Effect: Permanent increase to physical attribute. Combat level raised to medium

Atrophied: Permanent Decrease to Physical Attribute. Combat Level lowered to weak. (Countered previous Permanent Increase)

Psychosexual Break: In order to deal with her trauma, Yulia has begun to subconsciously fetishize her experiences.

Deflowered: Virginity Lost, sexual experience changed to: Inexperienced, non-virgin.

Marked by The Abyss: Found You.

Companion: Cherchiel, Goma, Martin, Isalia.

Cherchiel Equipment: Ultra Durable Spear( -3), Ultra Durable Shield (-3), Solanium Reinforced Bodysuit (add -1 to all physical actions).

Goma Equipment: Runed Dagger (-2), Hunting Horn (-2 for each ally affected), Reinforced and Nethicite Augmented Thick Hide Outfit (Negate most physical damage)

Goma Mana: 20%

Goma spells known: Heal (Mastered, 15%)

Isalia Equipment: Isalia's Sword (-3), Isalia's Shield (-3), Black Leather Armor

https://forum.chyoa.com/threads/the-tower-of-voices-voting-thread.3460/ )