The feedlot, because that was clearly what it used to be, was massive. Its fences sketched out a rough circle miles across, and Stanley could just barely make out the other side. He doubted it was originally so big, not this close to the city and not in a circle. It just looked... unnatural. The dense fog that buried the center in opaque white wasn't helping. Fortunately, the thick mist thinned and faded as it approached the fences. Stanley could sense only a few Souls inside the fog, all of them around the outskirts. The center was empty of life or else the fog was hiding whatever lurked within. Stanley fully expected the latter. Open gates dotted the perimeter fence, and Stanley chose one at random to begin his assault. It wasn't a tall fence, and he could have flown deeper in before descending, but he wanted to see what the Lair offered. The lack of soul information further in only played a very minor role in his decision to go slow… However, just because Stanley wanted to experience the Lair, his desire didn't extend to trudging through the mud that was a constant feature past the fence. Luckily for him, he could fly. You have entered a Lair: [The Hungry Mist] Not at all alarming. The creatures that milled around inside were pig-like enough that Stanley knew he was in the right place. Especially after the comment about not going too deep and seeing the fog. As for getting zerged, Stanley didn't think it would be a problem just yet, given how few were in the immediate area. He did, however, get charged by the nearest pig almost immediately. It was big, with a shoulder rising over his head and a length more than double that. The pink and gray skin was fairly normal otherwise. It did, however, squeal loudly all the way toward him, and Stanley would have had to shout to hear himself over the racket. He didn't shout, though. Instead, he said simply and quietly, "Trip." With Words of Power at full strength, Stanley could feel his psionic power at work as the single word came out, could feel his soul leaning into it and further empowering the effect... The pig tripped. It crashed violently and slid toward him with a spray of mud. Stanley floated higher to avoid the mess as it passed beneath him before descending behind it. Obviously, the creature was unharmed by the attack, but Stanley was just getting warmed up. He drifted back as the pig scrambled up and charged with renewed squealing. "Trip." This time, Stanley was in deep meditation as he spoke, wanting more time with which to observe the effect. The power moved fast, from what he guessed was his vocal cords, and it rode out on the sound waves. The 'power' of the word didn't take effect until the sound reached the pig… then it struck the pig's front leg and knocked it to the side, sending the pig tumbling again. It was interesting, but Stanley felt that being restricted to the speed of sound was… limiting. He could already move faster than sound if he put in the effort, and was pretty sure he had done so while fighting the monster that was using this very skill before. Maybe it needed to be leveled up? Or maybe he just wasn't using it to its full potential yet. He tried simply thinking the word very hard on the next pass, but it didn't work. Though, Stanley felt… something… for his effort, just not enough to have an effect. He expected that, like his other skills, this one would eventually gain new features as well. He just needed to level it, and so he tried a more violent approach. "Break." The sound of the bone snapping was satisfying and loud enough to be heard over the squealing. It resulted in the pig hitting the ground much harder that time, but it still scrambled upright and resumed the charge, only slowed marginally by the broken leg. "Break," Stanley said the same thing again, but this time focused on its neck instead of the leg. There was another crack, but the monster didn't immediately die, only tumbling down like before. The fall finished the job, however, and Stanley could sense its life fading when it slid to a stop. The word was a success but also felt like it required more power. Stanley got close enough for his domain to reach and inspected his handiwork. While he could 'see' everything inside the dead creature, he didn't know what most of the stuff was. There were some bones that looked like he thought a spine should and there was a broken bit in its neck… but he wasn't even sure where the spinal cord was, or how much things like that mattered anymore, and he didn't care. There was a Core for his efforts, which was good enough. However, one pig wasn't enough food for the feast he wanted to give Caffeine, so Stanley left the body where it lay as he went after the next target. Two pigs responded to his next attack, which was no problem because one died immediately and the next followed a second later. It was too easy and actually felt like he was using less power than his previously preferred cutting attack. A potential side effect of him technically attacking a smaller area, or so he assumed. Stanley was sure he could do the same thing with Mind Over All, but he still wanted to keep testing the new skill, including trying something outside of the usual. "Lightning Bolt." There was a flash of light, and the pig he was targeting stumbled. It didn't fall, however, and Stanley frowned as it shook its head and took off charging at him. There was more strain with the second word added on... He had used the skill against the B Grade spider earlier and spoken more words, but it hadn't felt like this... perhaps it was because he wasn't actually attacking the spider? "Lightning Bolt." He tried again, focusing harder this time. Again there was a flash, only this time he could tell that it wasn't a bolt striking from the heavens as he'd envisioned. Instead, it seemed to be localized directly around the creature, manifested by his ability but falling short in raw power. Stanley kept trying. It felt like this was something he should be able to do, but he was doing it wrong somehow. He tried shouting into the sky, spreading the power of his voice wider to manifest a more substantial bolt of lightning, and found slightly more success. The effect had a ceiling on how much power he could force into it, likely based on the skill's level, but it was enough for a decent bolt. Though he suspected it wouldn't be meaningful against stronger enemies. It still failed to kill the pig, and Stanley broke its neck with another word. He was missing something, Stanley was sure of it. But... The first thing he noticed was the mist surging in his direction. He had wandered deeper while testing his skill and Stanley didn't sense the soul until the monster was nearly upon him, not until it burst from the fog already charging at a dead sprint as it entered his domain. It was larger than the previous versions, at least twice as large, and colored rust red with shining black tusks as long as Stanley's arms jutting up from its mouth. There was much more boar than pig in this one, and it was faster by far compared to its earlier relatives. But not fast enough... Stanley smoothly drifted aside as it thundered past, and then more hastily dodged as it swung its head in his direction and sent gleaming blades of red light slashing through the air from the sharp tusks. The attack streamed past harmlessly, and Stanley considered what to test on his new subject. He had some food already, but this one was clearly stronger and so probably had better nutrition for Caffeine... Unlike all the previous targets, this one did not keep running once it missed him. As soon as its attack failed, the monster kicked off the ground in an explosion of mud and instantly reversed direction to head for Stanley again. "Stop!" Another of Stanley's old faithful tactics worked with the new skill. It still didn't completely stop the monster, not with just his voice, but slowed it down enough that he had time to try some other tactics. "Burn." Heat bloomed around the boar, but it, unfortunately, failed to burst into flames as Stanley had envisioned. The boar definitely didn't appreciate it, lack of flames or not, and it squealed with deafening volume while jumping into the air after him. Stanley still dodged it easily enough, his own flight capabilities far outstripping the boar's ability to jump. He hadn't even bothered to drop his pile of meat for the fight. The boar's increased size and speed weren't all it had to show for itself, though. Stanley's voice tried to break its bones and found them only cracking rather than shattering like before. Tripping didn't work because it was too steady and quick on its feet. Lightning bolts left small burn marks on its flesh but accomplished little else. Of course, Stanley could just keep talking... "Burst into flames." That resulted in the fire he wanted previously and seemed to do much more damage than before. The strain on his voice also increased substantially with the third additional word spoken in succession like that, though. Skill Level Up: [Words of Power] "Interesting..." Stanley mused and then smiled. This might be more fun than he expected. It looked like the ceiling he'd found for the skill's power was actually only for each individual word. "Fall to pieces!" The boar finally stopped squealing and collapsed. It didn't quite crumble the way Stanley hoped, but with his domain, he could see the many cuts throughout its body where his power had attempted just that. It was also enough damage that the boar died a few moments later. Skill Level Up: [Words of Power] Stanley coughed slightly from the pain in his throat, but it wasn't nearly enough to stop him now. He felt like a spellcaster chanting his spells, except he could just make up anything he wanted! He went looking for more targets in the mist. With his domain, Stanley wasn't too worried about ambushes, and if he had to, he could always lean on the Source to prevail against anything that might lurk inside. The fog hid everything in the visual and soul spectrum, even going as far as muffling sound down to almost nothing, but it still failed to block his domain. Stanley could feel the mist like a haze in his mind, but it only lowered his resolution slightly. He only went a few feet deeper before the next group came charging from the side. Apparently, the lair residents had no trouble navigating through the fog, and Stanley suspected they could see just fine from the way the whole group turned to home in on him. Stanley dodged upward and then sideways when more of the magical lights sprang from the black tusks. "Break a leg." The resulting pileup was amusing, but also a bit... cruel. They were just beasts, not enemies that needed to suffer. "Shatter skulls." That ended it, though he had to repeat the words multiple times to get them all, and then Stanley kept moving deeper. More monsters loomed from the mists, and more bodies fell ruined in his wake. "Burn to ashes." It burned, but it wasn't nearly quick enough. "Bleed to death." That one was just gruesome. "Fall to pieces." Bite-sized boar meat wasn't bad, and it died quickly, which was a bonus. "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust." The last one left Stanley coughing blood from his throat and unable to speak while he waited for his regeneration to patch up the damage. It did, however, leave the boar he spoke to crumbling into dust, which was a bit of a waste... Skill Level Up: [Words of Power] Stanley went to the previous kill and was preparing to shove a few of the chunks into his stomach... but had another idea. "Cook," he said, once his throat could handle it, and the meat did just that. Stanley tentatively tasted his magically cooked meat... and found it to be... delicious! It was somewhere between a roasted ham and just a hint of bacon. Stanley was starving. Both from his recent battle with the B Grades and his latest self-inflicted injuries. The only thing that stopped him from fully enjoying the situation was that he'd left Caffeine behind... He would just have to bring back even more to make up for the pug missing the snacks. Stanley cooked up a few more chunks and devoured them before the next pile of meat offered itself up by charging out of the mist. He repeated his previous tactic and then washed away the taste of blood in his mouth with more of the delicious meat. The power didn't flow with each word spoken, but built until he finished and then burst out all at once, resulting in the ruination of his throat. It also left Stanley wondering just how much he might be able to say in the future, and how powerful such an attack might be. At the moment, the building power limited him, and Stanley thought he could get up to maybe seven words before it would get dicey. Each attack also heavily drained his psionic energy, and if it wasn't for his fantastic regeneration, both physical and psionic, Stanley doubted the skill would be as useful. But it was useful and fun as well! Aside from the whole choking on blood thing... Eventually, Stanley found himself surrounded by a pile of boar corpses, all in various burnt and broken states of destruction. He was also deep inside the fog now, his search for targets having taken him further into the lair. "I should have brought Caff to eat some of these..." Stanley wanted to keep going, to keep testing the new skill, but there would be time for that later. For now, he had enough food that even Caffeine might not eat it all. Collecting all the kills wasn't difficult for him, and Stanley quickly had a mound of the creatures floating before him. "Time to go." He could always do more testing on the spiders... or maybe some humans would be stupid and attack him... ******* "No more!" Stanley groaned, falling onto his back. "Give it to Caffeine!" He clutched his stomach in pain while children laughed all around him. The eating contest had been a mistake. Caffeine was unstoppable. "Let there be light!" Stanley used his skill with the sole intention of damaging himself so that some of the food in his stomach would hopefully burn up. The light blooming overhead joined a dozen previous attempts that he'd made for the same reason. "I'm going to be sick," Eve said while turning away from Stanley. "I can't believe you ate all of that!" "Caffeine ate more!" "He's a giant dog! What's your excuse, you sick bastard?!" "But I almost had him..." Stanley created another light as soon as his regeneration stopped working. Eve just shook her head in disgust. She was obviously a quitter with no desire for greatness! Zeke laughed along with the children as they fed another entire roasted boar to the pug. The pug that was bigger than the truck now. Caffeine was a cheater... and he swallowed the offering just as eagerly as all the rest. "At least we're finally out of boars..." Stanley sat up abruptly. "What? I can get..." Eve's look stopped him, and Stanley fell back again. "Fine." Caffeine had won the battle. The pug was incapable of actually getting full, or so it seemed. He just got bigger... and bigger. That hadn't gone over so well with many of the people here, but the kids didn't seem to care. In fact, they were having a blast climbing all over him. Stanley didn't care what they thought. No one here was strong enough to be a threat, and they could be as upset as they wanted. They wouldn't try anything, if only because Caffeine was a terrifying monster that might eat them too if they did. Eve was enjoying the celebration, despite her complaints of his excessive overeating. Otherwise, she would be in the trailer working instead of out among the crowds. Walter had joined in with the few cooks in the fort, who, despite Stanley's completely efficient method of cooking, had taken it upon themselves to go the extra mile to prepare the meat with more care and affection... and spices. Stanley just wasn't that picky. Food was food, and this food was great! Also, it was much better than spiders... Daryl had also come out of his reclusive shell, and he was mingling with the people here in between putting on light shows that Stanley couldn't replicate. At least not without the Source... Stanley caught Adam popping in a few times for some food, but mostly he lurked in the trailer or on the fringes of the crowds. Sara tried to compete with Caffeine, just like Stanley... Honestly, it was worrying how much she copied him. Of course, she was doomed to failure and had passed out earlier with an overfull stomach. Stanley created more lights, and in different colors, while he meditated and watched over the gathered people. His domain couldn't cover the entire fort, but his mental touch could and he used it to ensure nothing would ruin this pleasant event. Besides that, Caffeine was here, and Stanley doubted anything would be stupid enough to attack this place. So they could rest for tonight, and tomorrow would begin the hunt anew.