Born Again 2 (2/2)
Your Call Outfit skill is now level 1!
You have unlocked the Makeup skill!
Your Makeup skill is now level 1!
You have unlocked the Strong Pose skill!
Your Strong Pose is now level 1!
Checking Dietary Restrictions….
Your Dietary Restrictions Skill is now level 25!
With a sigh of relief, Threadbare pulled off the black spiky wig, and shucked off the see-through teddy. “Here’s your whip back, thanks for the loan,” he said as he gave it back to Missus Fluffbear.
“I can’t look,” Madeline whimpered, from under the table.
Next to her, Garon’s tail poked out, lashing back and forth like Pulsivar’s. “Is he changed? Please tell me he’s changed.”
“Hm? What?” Zuula put down the parchment she was using to take notes, as she studied Threadbare. “Oh yeah, he done.”
“In more ways than one,” Threadbare said. “Status. Oh my. Yes, these will do nicely.”
“Good. Please never weah my lingerie again,” Madeline pleaded.
Garon stared at her.
“What?”
“You said that word without your accent.”
“I’m a vampaiah. We get a pass on saying sexy words.”
“You’re just making that up.”
She chucked him under the chin. “You wanna put me to tha test, tall green an scaly?”
“ANYWAY,” Zuula said. “Dreadbare, Missus Fluffbear here gonna be knight. So we gonna make her a saddle so she can ride Mopsy. Maybe you make one for Pulsivar, too, so you can ride as well?”
“Oh, sure.” Threadbare hesitated, his regular coat halfway buttoned. “What’s a saddle?”
A few minutes later, he nodded. “That’s a good idea. I had a real problem getting to where I needed to be in that battle where every undead died.”
“Not all of dem,” Zuula chortled.
“Shaddup.” Madeline poked her in the arm, and Zuula backhanded her off the table.
“Hey!” A faint red ‘0’ worked its way up from where she’d fallen.
Threadbare ignored it. “But if I’m riding Pulsivar, he can get me around faster. If he wants to. And I can show him where he needs to be. And he listens to me.” He rubbed his forehead. “Oh dear. Maybe this isn’t a good idea.”
“He loves you,” Missus Fluffbear said, “And I can show you how to teach him. I think.”
“Zuula can speak wit’ nature, and he nature,” Zuula pointed out. “We set him straight. Practice tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Yes. Enough dilly dally and fashion shows and stupid fucking grindluck. Zuula fed up wit’ level one! We gonna level tomorrow!”
“Mom?” Garon surreptitiously dangled his tail off the table, letting Madeline grab it and swing back up. “Our luck’s still not great. A few more days of grindluck…” he made a face. “Yeah no, you’re right. what’s your idea?”
“Zuula know a place that still be full of skeleton bits, and a necromancer to animate dem for us.” She pointed at Threadbare. “Tomorrow we go dere and he make dem fight us, and we practice as party!”
“Why wait?” Threadbare asked.
“Well, you need to refit Fluffbear’s armor and shield and spear… no, wait. You said you wanted to use the whip and dagger?”
“Oh yeah.”
“That leaves a spear.”
“Zuula take it.”
“What? How come you get thaht?” Madeline shook a wooden finger.
“You got teeth to bite with and a bitey job. Zuula got not’ing.”
“Oh, so ya agreeing that vampaiahs is bettah than orcs?”
The basement fell silent, as the toys watched Zuula shake, wordless. Her eyebrows twisted until they tore, seams pop pop popping as they gave way.
Madeline realized, too late, that she’d crossed a line. “Whoa, hey, I’m sahrry-“
Zuula hopped down, grabbed the broken bottle she’d made a few days back, and chased the marionette around the room, howling incoherently.
“Please, stop!” Missus Fluffbear called, and Threadbare stepped forward-
-and stopped, as Garon raised a paw. “Let them work it out. Better this way.”
A few hours later, after everyone had been mended, and Sparky’s fires were out (he’d taken the assault on his mistress a bit personally,) the teddy bears rode their groggy and disgruntled cats into the pre-dawn darkness, with the doll haunters and sparky following after.
“See? If she’d had twisted rage, one of you would be dead, right now,” Garon admonished.
“I don’t know if this is going to work out,” Threadbare said.
“What? Zuula apologize and give back eye. It only wood chip with paint anyway.”
“No, I mean this riding thing. He keeps going off to look at things,” Threadbare said from fifty feet away.
Most of the party could see him fine in the darkness, and Fluffbear had Sparky to see by, so they watched as Pulsivar ambled back, ignored them, as he followed a scent trail from one side to the other.
“Do you smell anything?” Fluffbear asked.
Threadbare took a sniff. “Yes, but I don’t know what. Never smelled it before.”
“No matter. We almost dere.”
They crossed the creek, keeping an eye out just in case.
And right before the bonefield, they stopped, staring up the hill, with shadows flickering at the limits of Sparky’s light.
“Tell me,” Threadbare said, staring at a round shape in the darkness, “Was there a boulder there before?”
The boulder stood up.
The boulder turned, gray rock revealed to be gray flesh as it turned around, eyes wide and moonlike in the darkness, club clenched in one hand. It considered the toys below it on the slope.
And then it roared, and fetid air washed over them, and the doll haunters were very, very glad that they didn’t have noses.
“Dreadbear! It be an Ogre! Quick, we gots to-“
She was wasting her breath. Mopsy had frozen in fright, but Pulsivar? Pulsivar was outs, yo. He didn’t do ogres.
With slowly dawning horror, the level one doll haunters watched as the black cat vanished into the night, taking their hope, salvation, and chance of resurrection with them.
Then they turned back to the ogre, as it charged and the ground shook under its feet…
QUICK REFERENCE: THREADBARE'S NEW SKILLS
Spoiler: Spoiler
CALL OUTFIT
Level: 5 Cost: 20 Mox Duration: Instant
Instantly summons one of your regular equipment sets from wherever it may be. The set must be kept together, and cannot include armor that isn't made out of cloth.
MAKEUP
Level: 5 Cost: 10 Mox Duration: Until smeared or removed
Allows you to apply makeup that buffs any one of your skills. Form follows function, so the makeup must be appropriate to the job that contains the skill being buffed.
STRONG POSE
Level: 5 Cost: 10 Sta Duration: 1 minute per model level
Buffs your strength. Only one pose may be active at a time.
THREADBARE'S CHARACTER SHEET
Spoiler: Spoiler
Name: Threadbare
Age: 5
Jobs:
Greater Toy Golem Level 11
Cave Bear Level 10
Ruler Level 5
Scout Level 5
Tailor Level 9
Model Level 5
Necromancer Level 10
Duelist Level 3
Animator Level 5
Enchanter Level 2
Golemist Level 3
Smith Level 5
Attributes:
Strength: 95 Constitution: 102 Hit Points: 257(307) Armor: 42(46)
Intelligence: 121 Wisdom: 148(154) Sanity: 269(358) Mental Fortitude: 32
Dexterity: 76(82) Agility: 80(92) Stamina: 166(242) Endurance: 52
Charisma: 77(107) Willpower: 104 Moxie: 181(261) Cool: 20(32)
Perception: 81 Luck: 65(71) Fortune: 146(202) Fate: 11(17)
Generic Skills
Brawling - Level 25 (+5)
Climb - Level 13
Clubs and Maces - Level 9
Dagger - Level 9
Dodge - Level 7
Fishing - Level 1
Ride - Level 8
Stealth - Level 10
Swim - Level 2
Greater Toy Golem Skills
Adorable - Level 21
Bodyguard - Level 6
Gift of Sapience - Level NA
Golem Body - Level 21
Innocent Embrace - Level 11
Magic Resistance -Level 6
Bear Skills
Animalistic Interface - NA
Claw Swipes - 22
Darkspawn - NA
Forage - 13
Growl - 2
Hibernate - 37
Scents and Sensibility - 18
Stubborn - 7
Toughness - 15
Ruler Skills
Appoint Official - Level NA
Emboldening Speech - Level 5
Identify Subject - Level 1
Noblesse Oblige - Level 20
Organize Minions - Level NA
Royal Request - Level 1
Simple Decree - Level 1
Swear Fealty - Level NA
Scout Skills
Alertness - Level 1
Best Route - Level 1
Camouflage - Level 1
Firestarter - Level 4
Keen Eye - Level 1
Sturdy Back - Level 6
Wind's Whisper - Level 1
Tailor Skills
Tailoring - Level 41(45)
Clean and Press - Level 5
Adjust Outfit - Level 2
Model Skills
Call Outfit - Level 1
Dietary Restriction - Level 25 (+50 to all pools)
Fascination - Level 3
Flex - Level 14
Makeup - Level 1
Self-Esteem - Level 14
Strong Pose - Level 1
Work it Baby - Level 20
Necromancer Skills
Assess Corpse - Level 10
Command the Dead - Level 28
Deathsight - Level 6
Drain Life - Level 1
Invite Undead - Level 12
Mana Focus - Level NA (+10% to sanity)
Skeletons - Level 16
Soulstone - Level 24
Speak With Dead - Level 18
Zombies - Level 3
Duelist Skills
Challenge - Level 3
Dazzling Entrance - Level 8
Fancy Flourish - Level 6 (12)
Guard Stance - Level 8
Weapon Specialist - Level 10 (Brawling +5)
Animator Skills
Animus - Level 13
Animus Blade - Level 1
Arm Creation - Level 1
Command Animus - Level 7
Creator's Guardians - Level 12
Dollseye - Level 2
Eye for Detail - Level 8
Mend - Level 25
Enchanter Skills
Appraise - Level 9
Glowgleam - Level 1
Harden - Level 5
Soften - Level 1
Spellstore - Level 1
Golemist Skills
Command Golem - Level 1
Golem Animus - Level 6
Invite Golem - Level 2
Toy Golem - Level 6
Smith Skills
Adjust Arms and Armor - Level 4
Refine Ore - Level 1
Smithing - Level 21
Equipment
Apprentice Tailor's Apron (+4 Armor, +4 Tailoring)
Baggy Pants of Hammerspace (+5 AGL, +5 CHA, Allows hammerspace for one blunt weapon)(+1 AGI, CHA, from WIB)
Poor Quality Bling
Ringtail Master's Coat (+5 CHA, +5 LUCK, +5 Armor, +5 Fate)(+1 CHA, LUCK, Armor, Fate from WIB)
Rod of Baronly Might (+5 CHA, +5 WIS, +10 Cool)(+1 CHA, WIS, +2 Cool from WIB)
Yellow Belt of Bravado (+5 AGL, +5 DEX, +5 to the Fancy Flourish skill)(+1 AGL, DEX, Fancy Flourish from WIB)
Toy Top Hat (CHA +10)(+CHA from WIB)
INVENTORY
A Sack of coins.
A Finely-Made Dagger (Dagger Level 5)
A Dungeon Core
Tailor's Tools
A small jewelry box full of reagents and crystals, most minor.
Minorphone (Enhances voice and social skills focused through it twice per day)
Quests
Save Celia
Unlocked Jobs
Berserker, Cleric, Cook, Spirit Medium, Tamer, Wizard