D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad

— Kat —

Kat and Lily glared at the orb in their hands. They’d even moved to one of the nearby giant mushrooms so they could sit and glare at it more menacingly. After they’d left the pillar behind their attempts at finding orbs amidst the glowing berries and fish had tapered off somewhat. They checked occasionally, but more as a ‘just in case’ type of deal then an expectation to find a real, useable orb.

Now however, they had concrete proof that at least some of the underwater lights were valid orbs. This one hadn’t been used yet but it was clearly made of that same glass-like substance, sounded the same when you tapped it and if moved near the bracelet would dim slightly until you pulled it away. “Shit,” grumbled Kat. “What do we do about this?”

[Nothing? Store it? It’s only been like half an hour since we found that pillar and I think we might’ve gotten a bit of overcharge because the bracelet doesn’t SEEM like it’s ‘missing’ any light yet.]

*Yeah that’s a touch weird. Not sure if it’s just because half an hour is too small a measurement for it to show off or if I was able to overcharge it… but we both know that’s not what I meant.*

[Can’t you just let me feign ignorance for a bit longer? At least things don’t stink quite as much up here.]

*I mean… we could I guess but if we’re sitting around it means we’re missing out compared to the others.*

[Urgh. It’s the middle of the night. How many of them are actually going to be in proper shape to move?]

*I’ve got no idea but… I feel like we don’t have such a clear lead as we might have in the past. While we’re both quite strong the familiar team has at least a decade of practice with teamwork. The dwarves have upgraded armour that might be able to trap us, and there is another demon on the field. If there was every a time to put forth our full effort it’s now… but I do recognise that burning ourselves out early could be a problem.*

[Why do you think the dwarves can trap you?]

*Well… if they know anything about me they probably know of my regeneration so they’d have to either focus on overwhelming firepower to the point that Thyme decides I’m ‘dead’ or ‘maimed’ or something… but I’m Rank 4 now. It’s going to take a lot to properly injure me. However with this bracelet, if they can get me locked up in metal that’s ‘tough enough’ to hold a Rank 3 I probably won’t be able to use enough force to escape. That’s just one example of course, but the easiest one to imagine.*

[Hmm… I guess I wasn’t really thinking about that. Still… back to the orbs… we could just… go back to flying around. Perhaps a bit faster this time. No need to slow right down and look for the random ones Thyme has left all over the place…]

*See, I have a guess about that now.*

[What?]

*If they’re so easy to find… what do you bet that the ‘people’ on the island use them as a currency? Even if it’s just some of them that treat them like that we might be able to trade for chests, special items or maps if we have a stockpile.*

[Really? You think so?]

*Well… I was mostly thinking about how sand dollars were used as currency at one point. Not sure why that’s where my mind went… but yeah I’m willing to bet we can get time orbs by performing quests and stuff and that we’ll need them to by stuff. Perhaps even to stay at an inn, though I’m guessing the ‘inn’ will include safety features.*

[You think there’s a village in every area?]

*Maybe? I think there will be actors in every area but perhaps not necessarily full villages. Doubly so for the centre. Not sure that there will be anyone other than competitors there.*

[Well… why not rush around to find the village then? Instead of wasting time collecting stray orbs?]

*It’s the middle of the night. A good chunk of them will be sleeping.*

[Urgh. Stop making reasonable points!]

*Sorry, not sorry.*

Lily continued to whine a bit through the mental connection but she wasn’t too serious about it… and it certainly didn’t change anything. After Kat’s non-apology she’d flown off and started to look through the swamp once again. It slowed down their progress in terms of ground covered but when the sun rose many hours later it brought them a small haul of orbs… and a moderate sized haul of berries.

Kat had decided to taste test them and… they were alright. Sort of like a lemon that had been injected with sugar. The real issue was that it left an odd burning on her tongue which made it unclear if it was safe for KAT to eat rather than safe to in general. Lily hadn’t found their smell particularly enticing either. Though that might just be because it was a berry instead of meat.

They weren’t sure exactly when the sun rose. The bracelet wasn’t a great help for that. It seemed to be missing somewhere around four hour’s worth but that really was just a guess. Thyme hadn’t left them with any convenient hour markings and ultimately, four hours was a small amount in forty-eight hour time limit making it harder to differentiate. Then there was the overflow they may or may not have received further complicating things…

Regardless of the exact time they’d used up, they could accurately measure the orbs at least. They’d taken to storing them first in Lily’s human form’s pockets and planned to add in the sleeping bags or something similar once that space ran out… which was now honestly. Lily had managed to squeeze nine of them into her various pockets and was currently carrying another three in the shadows, more as a training exercise then necessity.

They’d also, just as the sun rose, found another one of the pillars with an orb stuck to the top and were currently debating what to do with it. “So… best to just use the same trick and then use the orb straight away right?” said Kat out loud.

[I’m not sure. If we’re going with your whole ‘using the orbs as currency’ idea… would these bigger ones be worth more than their fair share? Like… instead of three times as much, because we’re pretty sure they’re three hours now… instead they’re worth five or six times the price]

“Counterpoint, we still have no idea how to free them from the pillar and I don’t think the bracelet will let me just rip the whole thing out of the ground. I could maybe freeze the base with demonic fire and carry it… that might be within acceptable limits for a Rank 2 but then I won’t be able to fly. It’s almost certainly too heavy for that, bracelet or no,” stated Kat.

[Urgh. It just feels like a waste.]

“We’re not exactly going to lose out on any time. Not sure we did with the first one… but we’re defiantly good to use up all of this one. If it really bothers you we can leave it here after it’s drained and come back later if we need it for something,” said Kat.

[No… best not to risk it. Just throw me over and then we’ll drain and destroy it.]

Kat shrugged and did as asked. She didn’t have strong opinions yet. The island was huge and filled with secrets. Admittedly, they could’ve covered a lot more ground if they hadn’t been stopping constantly to check the berries to see if they were orbs, but Kat and Lily had made their choice. Of course…

*Do you think we should move quicker now? We’ve more or less filled up all your pockets and I don’t know how many more you want to just carry around. It’s nice to have a bit of a stockpile but we do know where to come back for more. It might be time to speed up a bit.*

[Weren’t you just saying it wasn’t a waste to drain this one right here?]

*And I stand by that. The ones in the water are going to be an absolutely MASSIVE pain in the ass for nearly everyone else. The fact that I can fly over the swamp and none of the fish have attacked me… for the most part… was a considerable boon. Anyone else would probably take twice or three times as long to claim it all. Whereas this is a massive, obvious pillar that’s not impossible for the others to make use of.

I can imagine Green launcher herself a cross to the base, hugging it, and then waiting for her boots to recharge before launching herself to the top and tapping her bracelet. I can bet quite a few others have similar things they can make use of and Thyme might have even left some lying around as rewards.*

[Fine I see your point…]