Safety

A simple rest at Isalia's house is all it takes for everyone to be feeling better, except of course for Yulia, who is still mentally dealing with her loss of physical ability. Having had a taste of what it's like to be physically fine, being reduced back to her sickly, weak self is pretty damaging and she's clearly incredibly sullen about it. The four women are sitting in Isalia's room. Isalia and Cherchiel sitting together, Yulia sulking on the the bed and Goma still somewhat dazed from her experience, but otherwise fine.

"When you ran ahead in the Dream we lost track of you and then Lem appeared and told us we should head back to the entrance. He was very insistent and we gave in. After all with you gone, we couldn't hear the voices and there wasn't anything we could do to try and find you. So, we headed back to the entrance to wait. It was awful, knowing that you could be in trouble and we were powerless to help," Cherchiel explains.

Yulia nods weakly, "It was my fault... I shouldn't have run ahead like that," Yulia says, clearly feeling guilty, "I just... couldn't think clearly. I made a rash decision and it cost us... I'm sorry," she says and Cherchiel nods.

"Yes..." she agrees idly and then continues, "I don't think we should ignore The Dream though. It's clearly dangerous, but there's something more going on there and I don't like the idea of just leaving it alone,"

"Agreed. I'm worried that the Mind Flayers are more dangerous than we had previously believed. It's clear they are hiding some secrets deeper within and I'm starting to think those secrets might be a greater threat than the rest of us here in the Deep had considered," Isalia adds.

Goma moves to sit near Isalia, "Goma sorry... Tentacle face man grabbed Goma and Goma..." she hesitates and blushes a bit, "Goma was... with... EE Sa Lee Ah and Yoo Lee Ah. Goma... weak..." she says clearly also feeling guilty and she tries to hug Isalia, but Isalia seems uncomfortable as Goma touches her and while she doesn't push Goma away she doesn't hug her back either. Goma hesitates, "Ee Sa Lee Ah? You mad at Goma?" she asks her voice sounding almost broken and Isalia hesitates and then speaks.

"It... It's nothing, It's just... You were dreaming about me and Yulia?" she asks and Goma blushes a bit more and nods, "I see..." Isalia continues a bit cryptically.

"I doubt any of us are mimics, but we should probably get this test of the voices' over with," Cherchiel suggests and Yulia hesitates and then slowly sits up and draws out a silver knife and thinking for a second she brings it down to part of her exposed thigh and makes a slow gentle nick in the skin. Wincing slightly as the blade splits the pale skin letting a gentle scarlet trickle leak from the wound and then she offers the knife to Cherchiel. Cherchiel takes it and immediately hands it over to Goma who doesn't hesitate to cut into her arm with a sharp intake of breath. Once again the wound begins to bleed quickly and Goma watches the blood dripping from her arm with a strange expression.

Goma hands the knife off to Isalia and Isalia hesitates before cutting into her arm. The skin splits open and she lets out a gentle hiss and hands the knife back to Cherchiel as her hand moves to quickly cover the wound on her arm after. Cherchiel holds the knife and then sighs and lifts her hand palm up and runs the knife over the palm of her hand, hissing as the skin cuts and then she hands the knife back, "there... We're all real, right?" Cherchiel asks.

Yulia absently nods as she casts heal on her injury and then moves to heal Goma and then Isalia and finally Cherchiel. Goma grabs a tissue and wipes the blood from her arm and then offers it to Yulia who cleans around where her own wound had been before offering it to Isalia, who waves it away. Cherchiel takes it and holds it in the hand she had cut as she speaks.

"So... I don't know about trying out Blizzard in or around Aresque. We don't know how destructive it might end up being," she says and Yulia nods.

"Perhaps we should deal with the auction first?" Isalia offers, "then we can go to like the Wild Deep and try it out there maybe?" she suggests.

I don't want to waste a mana potion, especially if we might be going back into the Dream, so let me just take another quick nap to refill my mana and then maybe we can see about the Auction," Yulia answers, realizing that healing them had drained her mana again. She really needed to find a way to be more efficient with her magic.

(Health: 100%

Mana: 100% (Figure actually wasting time to deal with the mana loss of healing and refilling it would be a pointless waste... So... just keeping it filled. Yulia taking a quick nap in between this chapter and the next)

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), 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: 100%

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/ )