It...seemed like a good idea at the time.

[splinterself]

[So after getting the "Where is this, who are you, what is going on?" out of his system, Dirk Strider was purposefully and boldly exploring Mac Anu and was...kind of bemused by the fact that the city wasn't done up in purple and black.

...just saying.

He had ended up at the harbor and there he paused in his wan- purposeful exploring, as...you know what's incredibly distracting? Actually only having one self (at least for the time being) that he was aware of. Also the clothes. Also the fact that he still had no idea what the hell was going on, and, more importantly, what was happening with Roxy.

There was a certain irony in him spacing out just as badly as he did when he had multiple selves to juggle, one which was lost on the guy as he was spacing out, brooding.]

...

[Yeah, this was getting him nowhere. (And shit, the lack of purple really was throwing him off.) That was when he shook his head slightly, turned to the nearest person, and said:]

Hey.

[So verbose.]

Comments

[hoperaider]

How do you mean?

[splinterself]

Dude, I mean that sooner or later we'll be finished with this dungeon, right?

[hoperaider]

Yes, but I'm not quite sure if you mean to find a way back, potential plans for here in the meantime, or discussing plans for when we get back.

[splinterself]

All of the above, [Well, maybe mo- som- he'll handle the hard parts and let Jake enjoy the place.] but I was thinking more 'what to get to eat.'

[hoperaider]

I did notice food stalls while I was exploring the Root Town. I assume we can buy food.

[He checks his money pouch, and finds about 1100 GP in it, which surprises him. Jake recalls facing around 22 goblins thus far, soooo....]

Well, it seems we've been steadily accumulating wealth just by defeating the goblins. I doubt money will be an issue in that case. And housing is basically what the guilds are for, other than having a group of people to form various parties and share treasures with.

[splinterself]

Well yeah, but what? Tacos, pizza? [And he says 'pizza' very faintly wistfully: it looked really good. He always wanted to try some.] Or were you planning on ditching me the second we got out and going your own way? English. I thought we had something.

As for the guilds, I don't know. I'm not sure if I'm ready to join anything just yet.

[hoperaider]

Well, if there are ovens to cook with, I could probably be persuaded into making some pizza. I just need the money to buy the ingredients. [Lucky for him that Jake has always wanted to try his hand at cooking it.] That depends on if you want me to stick around. I don't have a problem with it.

There's also the option of creating one, which is my plan if we have to stay here.

[splinterself]

Don't be an idiot. I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to. [Does he mean the pizza? Does he mean chilling? Does he mean something else? Good question.

Oh, right. Rooms. You take the torch for a while.]

[hoperaider]

They're things I want to do, and if it's with you, then all the better. However, I will understand if you'd like to go off on your own for a bit.

[The narration is currently unsure of where the fuck these two are. So, major exploration of the rest of the map plus six dead goblins later, and Dirk and Jake find themselves back in the room where the gun giant is. They've also discovered Jake's range with the bayonet, which is somewhere in the 20-30 foot range. Unfortunately, the gun giant is only barely out of range from the hallway.]

Well, I could step in and try to step out, but I'm not quite sure if the devil will activate the moment I get within range.

[splinterself]

Yeah. [Hm.] I could always act as bait. I distract the giant and you focus on killing it.

[hoperaider]

How many healing potions did you gather? I, ah, wasn't exactly paying attention. [It's almost sad that he's already used to Dirk breaking shit already.]

[splinterself]

[Yeah, just a bit.]

Just two. [But he's speculatively eyeing the giant and not giving Jake his 100% undivided attention. Hmm...]

[hoperaider]

[Well, Jake is going to basically shove two of his three into Dirk's pocket, whether he wants them or not.]

Now you have four.

[splinterself]

[...oh. ...regrettably, Jake had a good point with that.]

Alright. So I act like a spazzy douche and get the giant's attention and you concentrate on hitting it as hard as you can. And...if things get dangerous get the hell out, don't try to be a hero.

[hoperaider]

[Yes, Dirk needs these more than him, man.]

I'll make an attempt to not be a hero so long as you don't die. Bargain?

[splinterself]

[Jake's willingness to invade a person's personal space is admirable.]

What, me, die? You seriously think I can stand still long enough for that thing to hit me? [And he's getting ready to enact the spazzy douche plot. Limbering up, a bit of a stretch since he'll be moving pretty quickly once he's inside and he's a lot slower here than he's used to being. Probably gonna go for it in a ta- moment or so from now.]

[hoperaider]

[Yes, well. This isn't about to go away. At least not with close friends.

He rolls his eyes and starts getting into his own place. Dirk does have a point. He's much too ADHD to stand still for very long without fidgeting!]

[splinterself]

[That's so totally not true, although thinking about it that may be because if one of him was standing still another of him was moving around so technically he wasn't standing still at all...

He sprinted in. The giant, as giants had a predisposition to doing, stared.]

Hey.

...oh mother fuck. Hey! [Acting like a spazzy douche was kind of hard, okay? Plus, he had to keep the giant's attention on him and let Jake fire away from a distance in peace. If only he had a smuppet to shoosh his ass with. (Note to self: fix that later.)

He took a few vague stabs but mainly focused on evasion because...yeah, he'd probably only survive a handful of hits given the level 5 versus level 1 difference god damn note to self: fix that later.]

[hoperaider]

[Dirk. ADHD advocate.

Jake is, indeed, firing away at it, though his bullets definitely aren't doing as much as they did with the goblins. He's praying the giant doesn't try to take a swing at him, but at the same time hoping Dirk gets some breathing room if he has to heal himself.]

[splinterself]

[He's busy doing his best impression of Jake English going berserk on various other ghosts, robots, and other such creatures.

Him being on the defensive and Jake taking the offensive didn't seem to be exactly working, though: Jake's shots weren't as effective as he hoped. Something a bit more proactive may be called for.]

[hoperaider]

[How flattering.

Jake's close-range probably does even less, so he's feeling a mite useless right now.]

[splinterself]

[Only the best, bro, only the best.

Okay, going to do something a bit more aggressive right about...now.]

[hoperaider]

[Not much for Jake to say, really, other than just pelting the damn thing with as many bullets as he can.]

[splinterself]

[And he takes the first hit, a glancing blow which neverless stuns him enough that the second of the hits connects solidly. The first of the health potions is chugged down.

Strife strife strife.]

[hoperaider]

[He can't help wincing in sympathy at the second blow. That had to hurt. Luckily, he's not distracted enough by it to stop shooting.]