Jack knew better than any of them the peril they faced as the overhang crashed into the tunnel below. The risk wasn't just choking dust that his wind ward was even now taking care of, or falling rock that they could only hope wouldn’t collapse the cave entirely.

What was most likely to kill them was the backwash of caustic goop, now equal parts melted bugbear, stone, elemental acid and pristine dissolvent now splashing right over Jack's bulwark, or at least a massive spray made it past, Veti and Elof both shrieking as the dwarf roared at them to move and Jack desperately did what he could, spinning back around and screaming "Ventus Zephyrus!"

And no one was more awed or relieved when his massive boosted gust of wind actually kept the flood of spray from covering all of them, maintaining the spell for nearly a full minute as the caustic mist settled and ceased splashing over the bullwark which, thankfully, was completely intact.

For long moments everyone just breathed, grateful to be alive.

Though Jack couldn't help but wince at the hand he felt squeezing his shoulder.

"You mind telling us what the hell just happened?"

Jack winced at Aroust's tone. "Of course you're assuming I had something to do with it."

The man chuckled dryly. "Didn't you?"

"Of course I did. What kind of question is that?"

"So. Why the hell is it that half the ledge just tumbled down the gore, and we nearly got buried in rubble and swept up in caustic rivers of foul effluent that will do things to my beautiful leathers I don't even want to think about?" Aroust said this while glaring at the trickle of fluid with had formed after the massive splashes of moments ago.

"Because I had no idea what you were doing, and I had to assume that whatever it was, might not work. Because two plans in motion gives us two chances to survive, and because if I'm going to play sitting duck, I damn well want to make sure my enemies are paying for the privilage." Jack glared at the hard-eyed man. "And it's not like any of you bothered filling me in on the plan, and how the hell was I supposed to know that a spell blocking my deadliest long range attack, repeated volleys of caustic death, would be countered by a Silver crossbow bolt?"

"A silver rune-covered bolt shot at just the right moment, Jack. And it took us three volleys to get the timing just right, even then," Drake clarified before climbing back up the bulwark, whistling at the sight before him. "Talk about destruction! Your spells are something else, Jack, I'll give you that."

"Drake, be careful your feet aren't eaten off by that liquid!" Veti cautioned, gazing apprehensively at the rampart.

"It's fine!" Drake said with an offhand wave, which made Jack smirk, because of course his friend was absolutely right. Rune warded as it was, the liquid had slewn right off, and Jack was almost certain it had dissolved enough flesh and stone as to be all but inert at this point, but he knew he wasn't the best judge of it, even dipping his naked finger in it to the surprised hisses of several of his friends."

"Jack, what are you doing?" Aroust hissed.

But here alone Veti seemed oddly calm. "Don't worry. It's his own spell. Knowing Jack, he's probably immune, or close to it."

And Jack couldn't help but nod. He thought it was more resistance than immunity to all versions of that spell, whether cast by himself or another, but regardless, the liquid did nothing worse than make his hands tingle. "I think it's pretty much neutralized. It's been eating flesh and stone for awhile now, but you're right. It's my spell, so..."

And surprisingly it was Elof who dared to touch it, leaving his digits in for a few long seconds before hissing and flicking his now reddened finger tip. "Still hurts!" The kid gamely said.

Jack grinned. "Sana Injurium," he whispered several times in quick succession, earning a relieved smile from Elof and clear, pain-free hearing for Jack as the last of his bruises faded and left him feeling in refreshed good health. "At least we now it's mostly neutralized, and thanks for stepping up, Elof."

With those words, he climbed to Drake's side, and had to admit that causing himself a headache pressing those globes of dissolution to the rock face for as long as he had had definitely paid off, at least in terms of dissolving rock sufficient for a great big overhanging chunk to break free and absolutely obliterate the spot where their enemies had been standing sentinel, just minutes before.

Enemies which had, conveniently enough, fallen to his friend's crossbow bolts just seconds before.

Drake turned to him, lips curved in a consoling smile. "That is pretty impressive, Jack."

"Um, thanks?"

"Of course, there's now no trace of the shaman's we took down."

"That's true."

"And absolutely no way we're going to clear a ton of rubble for what will be crushed trinkets and beast cores in any case. Am I right?"

Jack winced at that. "I guess?"

Drake sighed, before shrugging his shoulders. "Oh, well. That's the way the cookie crumbles, I guess." He turned to their companions, beaming brightly. "I'm guessing now's as good a time as any to rest and take stock, and let the rest of Jack's liquid death finish draining so we can safely walk the corridor and climb over the massive heap of rubble that's also conveniently blocking any more baddies from coming in here."

Barlton nodded agreeably enough. "Me nose thinks we have a bit o time before we have to worry about the glorious trail growin' cold." He scratched his nostril thoughtfully. "At least half a glass or so."

Drake laughed at that. "Exactly! So. Who's ready to level up?"

This immediately gained a round of surprised smiles, everyone only then glimpsing their character sheet, and everyone save Jack and Aroust had done just that.

Jack smiled inside, glad the topic was finally shifting as he felt his mana quickly tick back up under the rich, saturated air. Like a sea of mana bathing them, leaving his limbs tingling with energy and his mind alight with the tiniest of buzzes, quickly suppressed as they focused upon the only topic that really mattered.

Preparing for what was ahead, and getting out of there in one piece.

"I'm at Level 3." Elof's eyes were wide with wonder. "I can't believe it!"

Veti flashed a beaming smile. "Myself as well." she let loose a surprisingly sultry chuckle. "As much as I feared imminent death, the exhilaration I felt after causing those bastards to crumple before my spells, the sheer sweet rush of power now flooding my veins... glorious!" Her warm gaze met Drake's own. "It's just like in the bardic tales we so used to enjoy while forging phantasms beside in the academy hall fireplaces, is it not? Just as glorious, just as wondrous as we had all imagined as fresh-faced students, before losing ourselves to the fanciful wonder of that school, forgetting that their were far sweeter vices than the illusions and indulgence promised by the academy we once called home."

Drake flashed a wicked smile, eyes blazing with the sheer rush of power now flooding his veins. "You said it, Veti! 3 days ago, I was a helpless brat, at the mercy of enemies laughing at my utter humiliation and imminent death. Now we stride like Titans, our enemies dead at our feet! Bet of all, I just hit level 5!"

Veti furrowed her brows, a sharp analytical mind overcoming her momentary rush of euphoria. "How exactly is that possible, Drake? And more to the point, how do we best prepare ourselves for what's to come?"

Jack glanced Veti's way, and was surprised to find that he understood at least one of those questions. "I think preparations are going to depend on personal taste and style, but I did like your idea of specializing in debuffs and banes." He flashed an approving smile. "Best of all, I couldn't help but note that your spells and Drake's shouts stacked perfectly!"

Aroust frowned, focusing on Jack with an almost predatory intensity. "How can you tell that, Jack?"

Jack frowned. "You mean you can't tell? The debuffs stacked. I could see it in the combat logs."

The group grew silent. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Jack winced. Just as he was trying to escape excessive interest, everyone's gazes were now firmly on him once more. "Look, let's just say I have a knack for interfacing with my, well, interface, and leave it at that, okay? Now, you were all asking about leveling, that's something I might be able to help with." He turned to Drake. "I can see by our party interface that you were about a quarter of the way to level 4 before we entered this delve, and the rest of the party was pretty much at zero. Looking at the stepwise cost of advancement, I think it mirrors the cost in potency of, say, raising spell school ranks. 1 Point per each additional level. Only for you guys, it translates to, let's just call it a thousand experience points needed to hit Tier 2, then 2,000 for Tier 3, and 3,000 for Tier 4, and 4,000 for Tier 5. You could as easily call it a hundred, since it's showing a filled bar in my mind's eye more than numbers, but I'm used to dealing with thousands from, well, let's call it a game my friends and I used to play. With the 1000 points over level 4 he had already earned earlier, Drake needed about 3,000 experience points to hit Level 5, which was exactly what you guys needed for Tier 3. So each tier is just a thousand points more expensive than the tier before."

The entire party was gazing at him for long moments, before Aroust broke out in sudden laughter. "By fate's twisted smile, you had me going there, boy. For a second, I almost believed you! And wouldn't it be quite a sight if we could truly advance that fast."

Jack frowned at that, swallowing down the hot flush he felt suddenly overcoming his cheeks.

"Hey, it was just a theory. If you know something I don't, please. Fill us in."

Aroust sighed, shaking his head. "If all you had to go on was the first five levels, you'd be pretty close to the mark, young Jack. But the fact is, the cost of advancement shoots up once you hit Rank 6."

Jake blinked, wincing inside. "No kidding."

Aroust slowly shook his head, all but glaring at everyone present. "The cost to advance doubles. I can see that with my own character sheet, as you put it. My potency total jumped from half of what I need to advance, to 4/5ths. Or, to put it in your terms, my 5000 experience just jumped to 8000, and I need 2,000 more to finally advance to Level 7. So your first conclusion makes sense. Until you hit level 6. That's when it doubles."

Aroust took along moment eyeing everyone carefully, smirking slightly when Drake flushed and looked away, and Jack just knew his friend was beginning to regret packing away 4 levels worth of ability point bonuses into traits that would assure a beautiful physique and the admiration of many, but didn't directly do that much for his class. If his growth started to crawl at this point... Jack could all too easily sense his friend's sharp spike of anxiety via the party interface link, as if already fearing he had gimped his build.

"Relax. I could tell by the growing potency of your shouts that you purchased ranks in whatever would boost their power, as opposed to whatever other goodies were available, and that was smart. You can now focus on a stat build to compliment your growing power from this point on." Jack flashed his friend a rueful smile. "It's not like we don't have forever to advance, right?"

His friend flashed a relieved grin back, as the duelist spoke on.

"Think it through, friends. If it were otherwise, than why the hell are Silk, Otto, and Victoria still delving in the Yellow Tier, after all these years? That's just one rank next to the Green we're presently daring, right now."

More than one pair of eyes widened at this, understanding that it must mean that at least one of the remaining band of adventurers still here, perhaps for many years, was still somewhere between 11th and 15th level, if they were actually following the recommended color/level progression, and that was anyone's guess.

And here they were, 6 fools actually daring the Green as the first dungeon delve they ever dared.

Aroust smirked, as if reading Jack's mind. "I won't judge any man or woman the path they take. But unless you plan your build very carefully, deliberately picking the stats and abilities most aligned to your classes ideal, which might earn you a less steep curve after a time, you'll find your advancement grinding to a crawl once you hit Level 10. Where, thankfully, you open up the opportunity to multiclass. As to how exactly that works..." He sighed and shook his head. "Bitterest folly struck my group, and I fell out of the Guild's good graces long before I could research that question. I just know that many adventurers choose instead to invest that multiclass choice into faster progression in their main, continuing in that vein if they ever manage to hit Level 20. A rarer feat than you might think. But at least that way it won't take you centuries to advance."

Drake hissed a curse, eyes widening as he quickly did the math. "Wait... that means, to hit level 10, if it's doubling every level after 6... we'd need 80,000 potency points!"

Aroust nodded. "And Level 12 would need 320,000, and you'd need over 2 and a half million to hit 15. Assuming you didn't invest your multiclass option into your main, or find some other way to reduce the ballooning cost of advancement. Basically, it would take the average adventurer centuries to achieve that goal, and most adventurers retire from the game well before then, savoring endless centuries of youth with the occasional safe delve, and perhaps perfecting a few select skills or spells along the way. Fearsome opponents against any mortal that would dare challenge or insult them... but never rising past those middle ranks."

Drake paled and gave an angry shake of his head. "No. No! I refuse to believe that's all there is, that that's as far as we can hope to aspire to. I've read too many tales about legendary heroes and villains that could destroy entire armies with their might!"

Jack winced at his friend's almost desperate declaration, and Aroust's bark of bitter laughter. "Dreams for foolish children, and only that, Your Grace." he sighed and shook his head. "But I don't blame you for your dreams. I used to have them too. But legends are such for a reason. It's as rare for adventurers to break past the middle ranks, to be one of those shooting stars whose progression never slows down, as it is for any common-born whelp to actually survive a single footstep into Shadow. And we should all thank the merciful gods each day that we managed to do just that."

Hard eyes held their own. "Let's just be grateful for the miracle of our own existence." Aroust then solemnly bowed his head, his cold gaze replaced by a look of genuine gratitude. "As I will always be grateful to all of you, for giving the story of my life one more chance to be honorably told."

He flashed a brilliant smile. "And for all it's setbacks and challenges, we still dare a glorious life, my friends. Nothing says we can't forge tales of marvel and wonder, one day basking in riches and gold, daring no more than the Green we now embrace, and one day, Yellow." He then barked rueful laughter. "Though saner delvers than us would have started with the White!"

His gaze turned serious once more. "So spend a few minutes, and choose wisely. And if you wish to save some points in reserve, until you actually have a chance to research Guild tomes or the like on the best path forward for your build, then do so. Or at least I'd say that, if we didn't need every edge we can get, just surviving this, our first Delve!" He shook his head and sighed. "Of course, the Guildhall is permanently closed, here in Greycliff. Only the Academy holds copies of anything like those favored tomes now."

Drake and Veti exchanged tight smiles. "We might be able to help with that, later. Of course, our first goal now is survival."

Jack was pleased to see the excited expressions on his friend's faces as they closed their eyes and no doubt began the process of assigning points and forging themselves into the people, the heroes, they most wanted to be. He and Aroust exchanged grins, both serving as lookouts of a sort, neither in a position to level up.

"How are you doing, Jack?"

Jack grinned under the duelist's regard, oddly touched to see the concern in the man's eyes. "Doing quite well, my friend." He chuckled at his own words. He was doing a damn sight better than even that. "This delve's been quite good to me, even with just these last two encounters."

"How so, Jack? If I understand correctly... you still have yet to pick a class."

Jack nodded. "That's true. Let's just say, long story short, I'm looking for what might or might not be a rare drop to get what will hopefully be a pretty special class. Until then?" He shrugged. "I'm happy to let my experience point pool boost my skills."

Aroust frowned thoughtfully. "I'm not really sure it works that way, Jack. Unless you're burning far too many points that only Elites and Masters of any skill should burn, it takes years of experience and diligent training to advance one's skills to Journeyman and beyond. It's quicker if you actually have a mentor to guide your steps, of course. But even then..." He shrugged. "Journeyman ranks are called that for a reason. You're as likely to rank those skills up in the crucible of combat or creating your own masterwork items or learning at the feet of multiple masters, exchanging service for lessons, than one single mentor who taught you those first steps."

He frowned at Jack's increasingly bemused smile, before barking with laughter, his own smile taking in the entire slot cannon, their bulwark, and the steadily draining soupy mass of shattered rock and still disintegrating bones. "Then again, I'm sort of getting the feeling that your build breaks all the rules, Jack."

Jack shrugged. "I'm just grateful that all the potency I'm earning isn't being wasted. If I can't level up myself, at least I can rank up my skills."

Aroust gave a bemused nod. "Just be careful, Jack. There's a word for Delvers who hold off on leveling up too long."

"And what's word's that? Jack-of-all-Trades?"

Aroust's cold grin didn't quite reach his eyes. "I was going to say... dead."

Jack winced at those words.

"There's far more benefit to leveling up than just a handful of potency points, useful as they are. The ability to forge yourself into a being whose tougher, stronger, and eventually, many times faster than the average mortal is a huge, lifesaving edge in The Deeps. Not to mention, one's own ability to survive mortal peril in the world above goes up to an almost supernatural degree after forging one's soul in the crucible of peril below." He winked. "Any hero so favored by playwrights and poets as to be allowed to survive absurd odds over and over again might be called a work of high fancy... or simply forgiven by theater-goers as a delver's tale of love and adventure."

Jack nodded. "The all-important health pool and saving throw bonuses that come with leveling up. Believe me, I feel that. And what's this about a theater?"

Aroust's eyes positively twinkled. "Have you never been to the stage, Jack? Seen wonderful performances of comedy, tragedy, or simple high adventure? For all it's flaws, Greyspeak is a wonderful mecca for all the arts." He sighed. "I was in a few performances myself, once upon a time and had played, as chance would have it, the hero more often than not."

Jack grinned. "Was it love of theater that compelled you to try your hand at Delving? To see if you could survive realms of living dream and transcend mortal limitations?"

The duelist chuckled softly. "Nope, nothing so grand as that." He sighed, shaking his head. "I got drunk as a lord, and did it on a simple dare."

Jack blinked, and slowly shook his head, before barking with laughter. "That's brilliant, mate. Absolutely brilliant!"

Aroust's grin matched his own. "Wasn't it? A brilliant bit of absurdity that should have ended my life right then and there for the fool I was. But instead? Here I am."

And Jack could tell the moment his friend's bemused reflection turned to dark, bitter thoughts, no doubt struck anew by the bitter folly that had so mocked his fortune, a simple fateful twist and a wife and band of brothers had been lost to him forever. So Jack did his best to distract his friend, putting to words a matter that was on his mind.

"I recall you saying something to the extent of our progression being quite quick for the first half dozen or so levels, then slowing down considerably."

Aroust nodded. "That is the size of it, Jack. Every level from that point on is double the one from before, less only if you're fortunate enough to unveil a rare perk that reduces its cost. And believe you me, I make a careful examination of all my perks each level before I invest a single point, and I would advise all of you to do the same."

"That's the thing," Jack said. "My former party didn't seem to slow down at all when they went from levels 5 to 6 to 7."

Jack winced at the sudden stillness he could sense in the air. And it wasn't just Aroust's intent stare. It was the way everyone went from intently focusing on their own inner worlds to intently focusing on him.

"Let me make sure I understand this, Jack. Are you saying you've actually delved with another group of adventurers? I don't just mean train or face common foes together in the realm of mundus, the world we call our own. I mean actually entered the deeps with them."

Jack felt a twinge in his gut with the intensity of Aroust's stare. But he didn't hesitate to nod. "Yes. It was a wild delve. A wild pustule of Shadow, I think one of my friends called it. I had stumbled upon a group of newly awoken adventurers just when they were about to get overwhelmed by magma golems." He flashed a rueful smile. "I leveled up Water Spout considerably that day, and learned to appreciate the virtues of pretty much every spell we know."

Aroust's eyes widened. "Wait, are you actually saying that you and a band of new-bloods actually took on an elemental dungeon and lived?"

Jack nodded. "They asked if I wanted to join them and I said yes! We entered together, took out numerous predatory slimes among other things, including a massive mechanical golem boss at the end. Once the shadow pustule was closed, we adventured together for a time, and by the time we parted ways, just a few weeks, or perhaps it was months later? They were at level 7 and I found myself very proficient with rune forging artifacts."

The Duelist just furrowed his brow, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Jack. I just find that exceedingly hard to believe, for any number of reasons. There's absolutely no way your friends could have survived an elemental pustule as newbloods. You need to be at least level 5 to even enter. How is it that you don't know if it was weeks or months that passed? Either way, it takes far longer than that to shoot up to level seven, and your friends would notice their massively slowed progression. And rune forging? A master?" He flashed a bemused smile. "Are you perhaps having me on, friend Jack? Sharing a playwright's story to pass the time while we wait for our friends, sure to chuckle at my expense at any moment?"

In answer, Jack solemnly unsheathed his Carolingian blade and handed it to the man. "Before you judge, why don't you test the sharpness of that blade? And after that, you can take a closer look at Elof's shield."

A frowning Aroust did just that, bemused smile turning into first a serious look of concentration then wide-eyed disbelief when Jack's blade effortlessly cleaved through a piece of scrap leather and a buffing cloth, careful eyes examining the blade. He then looked up at Jack. "Save for microserrations along the edge..."

"Deliberate, helps to cut through even toughened rawhide when slicing with your blow."

"The blade's a masterwork, or close to it. And as for sharpness?" He carefully brushed just the tip of his thumbnail against it, eyes widening with a tinge of surprise when a beed of blood formed at the tip. "Striking. My only worry would be how quickly this masterwork would loose its edge, even made of finest steel and..." Holding the blade by the lenticular pommel, he rang the flat of the blade with his knuckles, his ears seeming to pick up what Jack's Mage Sight did almost automatically. "clearly enchanted."

Jack grinned. "And you don't have to worry about the edge either. See that Resilience rune forged into the base of the blade?"

Aroust frowned before giving a slow nod. "I do."

"It was forged and fused with both an enhancer's and warrior's arts. The results are swords and shields that might not radiate any wild magical powers, but should be pretty much indestructible, at least against most threats you'll find in the mortal realm, and our blades might not actually be able to cut through heat treated and hardened steel, but they slice through pretty much everything else, and the edge never dulls, even banging it against a tempered helmet."

Jack grinned at the man's six foot glaive that he had put to such deadly affect, almost effortlessly cleaving through vulnerable limbs and skewering numerous foes in their first battle, helping to keep them alive before they could be overrun in those first crucial moments. "Our blades may never match a polearm in terms of sheer deadliness, considering the added 3 feet of range, superior leverage, and the massive power you can generate with a wide, two-handed rip on the shaft of your weapon. But when it comes to pairing our swords with an indestructible shield? They can't be beat."

Drake gave an admiring whistle when he got up from his seated position and inspected both sword and shield for himself. "These are impressive as hell, Jack. Are you saying you actually helped to make these?"

Jack grinned. "Only the runes," he said. "I'm still a novice at actual blacksmithing, though I was happy enough to apprentice under my friend Mitch, because the better I understand the song of steel, as he puts it, the more true my rune placement and understanding of the weapons I help forge will me. Mostly, though, I focused on learning to harmonize my magic with other enchantry arts."

Drake just grinned and shook his head. "You do realize this blade and shield are both worth an absolute fortune, right? And if we could get you set up with the very few arcane craftsmen still in the duchy..." he shook his head. "The possibilities, shieldbrother, are endless!" He tilted his head curiously. "Not that I'd ever doubt you, but when you say weeks or months..."

Jack caught a number of curious gazes then, all his newfound friends clearly finished forging the builds of their souls however they thought best, so he just smiled and shrugged. "Turns out repeatedly risking our lives taking on what should have been a starter mission but turned out to be a deliberate death trap that we actually managed to survive had turned them off on the whole adventuring thing, knowing that far from being supportive, too many corrupt powers in Greycliff were actually gunning for their deaths. So, when an opportunity came that actually allowed them to somehow redo their original choices, they took it."

Elof frowned. "What do you mean by choices? You mean they took different character classes?"

Jack shook his head. "They founded a new town of their own, deep in Regio, safe from all malicious influences. They then embraced the story of that newfound town and made it their own, somehow stepping off the Path of Peril and embracing the Path of Eternity." He sighed and shook his head. "And call me a fool, sometimes I still do, but I chose to stay on the path I'm on, to see just how far I can go before my story is finally finished."

Elof frowned, turning to a thoughtful looking Veti. "Do you understand what he's talking about?"

She flashed a sad smile. "Actually, yes. It means that Jack had the miraculous good fortune to stumble upon a newly awoken band of reborn souls, perfect copies of the original founders of our realm. Those souls alone are given a choice as to their fates upon reaching maturity. And it might also explain how Jack's friends were able to level up so fast, and why Jack can form a party with us now."

Veti frowned thoughtfully, examining Jack with the same intensity as Aroust and Drake were looking over Jack's sword and shield. "It seems that Twiceborn souls can bend rules that limit most adventurers. One of the perks of being an original, perhaps. Most of the heroes we hear about in the stories are also Twiceborn. Or at least, that was the underlying theory discussed in a set of ancient tomes I once read for a lark over a few nights during a summer that lasted near thirty years, and now feels no more real than a dream."

She swallowed and lowered her gaze with those final words, seeming to take comfort when Drake unselfconsciously leaned in and gave her a hug and a pat on the back.

"It will be alright, Veti. The past is past us both, and now is a fresh new chapter in both our lives." Drake gave his friend a supportive grin. "And don't worry. Your always welcome at our estates. Hell, you're practically family, after having spent so many summer breaks tutoring me, and refusing all payment besides."

Veti swallowed, flashing the young scion a vulnerable smile. "It was a pleasure. At least at your home, I always felt welcomed. Not like an unwanted hanger-on of a family that neither recognized nor wanted me, with two distant sisters and their too demanding husbands, and parents that had long since past away, leaving me nothing. not that I care, but that they had also thought that I had passed away..." she swallowed, shaking her head, doing nothing to stop the flow of tears caressing her cheek. "The sweet dreams the academy offers have a dark side, Jake. Never forget that. If you loose yourself too deeply in those dreams, you might wake up one day to find your own life far closer to being a nightmare than you might think."

Drake nodded solemnly, before flashing his trademark smile. "So of course, brilliant sods that we are, we chose to dare the life of a Delver, traipsing off to risk our souls in Nightmare directly!"

Veti swallowed and laughed, now wiping her cheeks and taking a deep breath. "Yes, we did," she said with a firm nod. "And I've decided to stay true to my build for now, to see just how far I can push it, even knowing its drawbacks. I've been planning this for months, and after what Aroust taught us, it's more clear than ever that we don't really have room to waffle with an indecisive build that might let us survive an immediate encounter, but will suit us poorly for long term growth."

Drake nodded. "I think our biggest drawback is needing a clear line of sight on our opponents, without our view being blocked by our friend's large heads." This earned a chuckle or two as Drake spoke on. "We certainly had our spell use figured out a bit better with the bulwark, and I'm doing my best to take steps to increase the range of my shouts and hit with more punch than ever. If my hunch is right, mastering an individual shout will not only make it stronger, it will also make it easier to manipulate, so maybe I will be able to shout from the back. In the meantime, I grabbed a buff shout, so hopefully I'll be more useful than a lump, and might actually survive being closer to the action before blowing my enemies off their feet!"

He then turned to Veti. "Any interesting spells we should know about?"

She grinned at that. "Sap Vitality and Slow. A combination that I think will be damn useful with Jack's artillery spells."

Aroust gave a thoughtful nod. "It will also let us maneuver around our enemies, and force them on the defensive." His grin turned wicked. "Combine slow reflexes with the clumsiness and brittle armaments you had going before and I think you've just turned into a warrior's dream woman, sure to make him shine with glory when he cuts down foes that would otherwise pound him to dust."

Veti flushed at those words before flashing the duelist a grateful smile. "That was my hope when I originally designed this build," she softly said. "To put the party above myself, to know that no matter how many masters of various elements they might have, they could all benefit from someone that could soften up their target and reduce their target's ability to harm them in turn.

Jack smiled and nodded, in complete agreement. "Bane specialist is brilliant, Veti. Exactly what we need. And with Drake committed to mastering his shouts, shouts that stack with your spells... I think we're in very good hands."

He then turned to Elof. "How about you, Elof?"

But much to his surprise, the normally mild-mannered and eager to please Elof was glaring at him.

"Elof? What's up?"

The youth just shook his head and looked away, refastening his helmet over his mop of curly hair before turning to the dwarf.

"I think it's time we got a move on. Don't you, Barlton?"

Barlton flashed a great big grin. "Indeed I do, lad. Now if you ladies are done preening like peacocks, we got a stream o caustic nastiness to cross and a bit of a rubbly cave-in to climb over and then, my friends, we will be just a single roll of the dice away from true fortune and glory!"