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Update 9: Piles of Treasure (Turn 73 - 100)
...Ah, yes, the tale of Goatmurdered. My apologies go to those who awaited the continuation of the tale, and now we begin again.
'Tis unfortunate, I liked the old meeting hall, but what can a-
...Yes, it was completely necessary to wait for its complet-
Listen, there's no better place than a meeting hall for tales of yore-
-Hey, who's telling the story here? You want to hear it or not?
...
...That's what I thought. Now, where was I...
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Turn 73 - 76
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: ...And that should be it then. Welcome to the fold, and may your powers help bring order to Thea.
: Yaaay...
: Kehehehe, a regular coven we have now, it seems.
: And entirely without a special bloodline- that's the most important part. Now, I was thinking of finding another disciple, but who to choose...
: Can I go back to the mines now...? I miss the darkness and I'm getting sleepy again.
: Sure, sure, whatever. And remember, don't touch any of my food without fresh bandages. Meinberg, have you any ideas of any others we could bring into the fold? I want to make sure we're strong enough, for when its time.
: I might know a lass or two... kehehehehe...
: Great! Well, get me a list and bring it to the kitchen later. The bigos isn't going to make itself.
: We shall meet soon then, wise one. Kehehe...
: Oh, and if you notice your blood turning into acidic poison, document it well for me.
: ...?!
With the passing of time, Black Robe's experiments and forays into magic continued, eventually bringing in one of the town's older civilians into her designs. Old Lady Meinberg was rather dutiful, unlike Delilah, but it would seem her hypothesis of age bringing greater power was incorrect.
Still on the search for the perfect execution of her designs, she continued her plan to see if she could generate the power she thought was necessary to survive in Thea.
While the Dance Macabre made their way back home for a resupply, pondering their next action regarding the mission Horos had presented them, another thing of note happened back at town.
A child had grown of age and had proven herself worthy of a title thanks to her great vivacity regarding gathering- a job most considered boring, though necessary. Slaan became her title, one worthy of a new gatherer.
: Granny, granny! I got a title! A real, true, honest to Horos, goonic title!
: Oh? That's great dear. What for?
: Y'know, I didn't ask, but everyone's been saying they really like the work I've been doing! Look, I got me a scythe now!
: ...What are you planning on doing with that? We can't grow grains here.
: Who said anything about grains? I'm goin' to go reaping cabbage heads! It's gonna be a harvest of beheadin'! Wooo-wee!
: (...Perhaps it's a good thing I didn't recommend her to Witch Black Robe...)
: C'mere, you leafy thing! I'mma slice you like Oggy did that striga!
: (...Though it might have been a good bit of chaotic fun... kehehe...)
: Aha! You thought you could send the carrots to sneak up on me, but you thought wrong! Hyaaah!
The name roughly translated to "ruthless harvester". Needless to say, the village remained somewhat concerned about her at all times, particularly for her own safety. Many times were documented that she charged invaders despite being nearly entirely unarmed.
Some wonder why she never took to military training, but it's often hypothesized that...
: Countess Rutabaga and her thralls! Your time has come, vile palate cleansers! You shall fall, and then I go to challenge the Lima King!
...she just had a specific vendetta against vegetables. That, or an overactive imagination.
: 
Possibly both.
As town life continued, so did the expedition life. The road back was slow and mostly uneventful, but the group did make sure to scout out the area around this "Leech Lord" they had been told of.
And as always, more graves to dig, and more restless dead to quell.
Though the armnaments of the dead weren't often useful anymore, sometimes a gem such as this elven wood shield would arise. A little bit heavier than to be normally expected, but quite sturdy defensively.
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Turn 77 - 88
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The expedition eventually weaved their way through the steep hills and restocked at the town. After a good bit of deliberation, a plan was formed for the time being.
Goatmurdered had no shortage of those specialized in gathering these days, and a shortage of food wasn't ever likely to be in sight. This left enough room to let some of the more experienced gatherers join up with Dance Macabre for a special mission.
: Right, so I've been working on some more things to help you out in the field, but I'm going to need some more materials. You said you knew were a silver mine was, right?
: That we do. We could get there by the time the sky darkens again. What's the plan?
: The primary plan, is to take some of that silver and fashion some platemail. For the time being however, I'm working out some logistics on spears. I want them to be aerodynamic, really help give you folks the same grace Evil King has.
: Sounds good to me. Silver spears too then? Sounds like a right fine set of arms and armor for hunting some night-creatures.
: Some silver ones, maybe, yes, but I was thinking of that mithrill we hid in the storeroom. Old Grey Guy, how good of a spear would that make?
: Only the very best.
: Indeed, moonsilver remains one of the lightest, sharpest, and strongest metals to be known of. The elven druidic guard made use of it exclusively.
In short, their plan was to assemble some top-quality gear for the adventurers. Given as they could often handle themselves on the social front, many of the people in Dance Macabre were not trained fighters such as Fat Samurai and Shei-kun. Better gear meant that this "Leech Lord" would be more predisposed to falling at the hand of the expedition.
Anonymous and Vodkahead were chosen to come along and assist Old Grey Guy in the collection of silver, while the town made sure to stay on its highest guard knowing that their adventurers would not be returning for quite a while.
The team restocked its belongings, planning for a long journey, and set out.
: Nomads? Should we go talk to them?
: It wouldn't be a waste of time. Perhaps they'll join us.
It wasn't too long before they caught up with the nomads.
: Yeah, we can spare that.
#019
: Huh, what's all this?
: ...Dryad wood. It's quite rare actually.
: It should serve to make some powerful spiritual wards, or perhaps more artifacts. We'll have to let Drakenel see what she wants to do with it.
Moving onwards, the expedition headed to the northeast and eventually reached their destination in the cover of darkness. As they pitched tents and readied their tools, progress was made back at home.
Drakenel had finished her designs on making effective spears. It had begun with some work perfecting staves, but after a bit of time she had all the details for making spearheads laid out.
Pulling the legendary metal from its hiding place, she set to work, running the forge at the searing temperatures required to move the impossibly hard metal.
In time, she would end up with three spears, two of which were crafted to perfect specifications. For the time being, some of the townsfolk would carry them for defense until they could trade out with the Dance Macabre.
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Turn 88 - 99
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The work was slow, but they were gathering it up fast enough- Anonymous had plenty of tips when it came to working in a mine. After all, he'd practically dug the coal mine at Goatmurdered by himself.
Sometimes they found other things in the mine, but very little of it was worth mentioning.
: Hoy, what's this?
: Looks like some sort of tome.
: Rather roughed up though, ain't it? Let's take it anyways, those iron bindings might be useful if nothing on the pages are.
As the morning rose, they had a healthy supply of silver to bring back with them. It was a good learning experience for everyone.
For most, it was a test in vitality, but nobody really noticed where Fat Samurai had gone to. As they were leaving, she reappeared as if on cue with some bear meat.
: 'Ey, how'd you get that anyways? You left your spear back at camp.
: I wrestled it.
: Truly?
: Crushed head between thighs like sparrow's egg.
: 
: What? It attacked first.
: ...Oookay then. I guess I'm on the wrong fitness plan.
Whether or not she was joking, it was hard to tell with her rather monotone attitude, but few people questioned she was the strongest of the team. One specific anecdote tells a sighting of her "powerlifting fallen trees".
The going-ons back at town werent much, and business seemed to progress as usual.
As they finished packing up everything and got ready to head back, they came across a ruined town they hadn't noticed before. Cautiously, they entered and came across an unusual sight.
: Hold! We mean you no harm, we're servants of Horos.
: Can't we just do it together? These are some really nice tools, and I'd hate to lose'em.
: Yeah, and that's why we're askin' for 'em.
: I don't see what the issue in helping one another out is. Give it a shot, the world's a lot different now.
: Ah! And ye've got yourself a little elfie too, don'cha?
: I ain't liking the look of this boss.
: Hey, just give us a chance here would ya?
The groups had a long conversation, one rather heated for talks of cooperation, but in the end...
The Dance Macabre did what it did best: talk its way out of a conflict it might not have been able to handle.
: C'mon, let's get this damn thing open before I change my mind.
: Can do.
: Huh, kinda like our town isn't it?
: Makes ya think.
The groups took a break after divvying up their loot and decided to have a short chat before leaving. The orc leader brought up a rather unusual topic- the idea of an exchange program.
: You the leader? I woulda figured elfie princess over there to be it.
: No, she's only been an advisor- I am the designated defender of this group, as I have been since a young age.
: The scars tell of that at least, darlin'. Anyhow, you got an answer as to my proposal?
: Though we're both children of Horos, I must respectfully decline. My life's duty and honor are to ensure each one of my people is safe from harm, and I wouldn't be able to that if they weren't in arm's reach.
As the groups parted, the expedition was finally on their way home, carrying even more rare materials than expected.
Possibly the item of the most value was the collection of Ancient Wood, lumber taken from some of Thea's oldest trees. The materials was known to be frighteningly toxic, and would serve to make incredibly deadly weapons.
As the expedition got ever closer to returning with its bounty, we come to a rather peculiar anecdote written down in the town's history.
Nobody's sure entirely as to what it means, but its in there. Some suspect it might have been part of an elaborate prank done to the chronicles at the time. Regardless, Thea is a strange place and it's not that unusual when we have talking rats.
Turn 100
At last, as the sky began to darken again, the Dance Macabre made it back to Goatmurdered.
All in all, the expedition had brought back an incredible amount of loot, much of which would serve to better the armnaments of the Dance and the development of Goatmurdered.
How? Well, that'll have to wait for next time.
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Whew, I was almost gone for a month there. The good news is that I'm making good progress with what's taking up most of my time now. The bad news is that it means the update schedule will still be a bit slower.
To help with that, I'm going to start spacing out the turn count of the updates some more- somewhere towards 20 - 30 turns unless anything rather large happens.
Regardless, I've got a good bit of voting for you all!
Firstly, we've gotten our next two villagers, and we're out of kids. If we get more, the kid doesn't develop any talents, what class should they be?
A warrior, a gatherer, a crafter, or a witch?
Next up, we've got a fine load of materials. I've already opted to make some spears (3 Mithril, 1 Ancient Wood), but we've got a lot of options.
For our 64 bars of Silver, do we:
Work towards learning platemail (will take some more time),
Make some shields (we don't have that many active shield-users),
Or develop some other weapon types instead.
For our Ancient Wood, do we:
Make more spears out of it,
Make jewelry out of it for high physical/sickness jewelry,
Or save it for now.
For our Dryad Wood, do we:
Save it for a building we may have later,
Or use it now for some magic/stealth jewelry.
As for the Gold, I'll likely be trying to make some more high feint rings with it, or some willpower weapons.
After that, if we ever meet the orcs again, should we think about the orcish exchange program? There's no guarantees as to who goes as far as I know.
After that, we may have festival at some point. Should we,
1. Go find a god's magic flower,
2. Send a wreath down a river in search of love,
3. Start up a bonfire to prove strength,
4. Or go swimming, it should be safe.
Lastly, what next?:
A: This silver mining worked out well, lets go get more!,
B: Let's get armored up and head for the Leech Lord!,
C: Heck with all that, let's go check out the Cosmic Tree!,
D: Let's go check out Arathor's bridge. Aren't we supposed to get a reward or something?
It's a lot to vote for, but don't feel pressured to vote for all the categories. I'll eventually have the next update out at some point, but until then, we do need some more goon names for the villager list as Jimmydalad is the only one left on the list.