Welcome to Gaia! ::

General Information
As the general, jack-of-all trades division, the Mist Hunter training course is a combination of the other divisions' training challenges and also one of the more complicated. The goal of this course is to rescue the princess in the tower. Below her, you'll find yourself confronted with a number of shadowling attackers, and beyond them, a room of only slightly deadly traps. But even should you reach her location, you still need to pick the lock on the manacles holding her in place. Unskilled fiddling with the locks will prove unhealthy for both the princess and yourself. And once that's done, you need to make your way back down through the traps and shadowlings, defending the princess the whole way.

The Miss Taken Tower is one of the most challenging and frustrating courses available.

If you fail: your princess dies, and you are quite possibly KO'd. Senior hunters are observing and will make with a timely rescue as needed.

If you win: the princess will adore you for the rest of her exceedingly brief existence. Peen points for 100% health for you and the Princess, shadowlings fought, going for consecutive rescues.

• Part 1
  Mechanics
  - roll your regular attack
  - roll your regular attack again
  - if you miss an attack, you lose 50% of your full HP
  - if you have an available recovery bonus, you may try to use that to avoid HP loss
  
  Bonus Mechanics
  - This bonus is consumable.
  - for the Mist Course, it is recommended you review the mechanics of the other division courses, as the division bonuses carry over.
  
  - Trainees: 0 recoveries
  - Mist/Sun Trainees: 1 recovery
  - Hunters: 1 recovery
  - Mist/Sun Hunters: 2 recoveries
  

• Part 2
  Mechanics
  - there are two steps worth of traps in this room, so you'll be rolling twice
  
  - roll 1 d10 to determine what your character is about to step into
  - use your bonus mechanic to adjust as you can
  - adjust your HP and bonus count accordingly
  - roll 1 d10 to determine what your character is about to step into
  - use your bonus mechanic to adjust as you can
  - adjust your HP and bonus count accordingly
  - roll list: (feel free to get creative about what the traps actually were)
  (-50% HP is off your full HP, so if you hit -50% twice, then you are 100% KO'd)
  
  01. horrible death
  02. - 50% HP
  03. - 50% HP
  04. live
  05. live
  06. - 50% HP
  07. horrible death
  08. - 50% HP
  09. horrible death
  10. live
  
  
  Bonus Mechanics
  - This bonus is consumable.
  
  - Trainees: 1 flag
  - Mist/Death Trainees: 1 flag and one instinctive move
  - Hunters: 1 flag and one instinctive move
  - Mist/Death Hunters: 1 flag and two instinctive moves
  

• Part 3
  Mechanics
  - use the given roll for your hunter to try and open the lock on her right manacle. Rolling a 1 means you fumbled, and the cuff exploded causing both you and the princess to lose 50% of your full HP.
  - roll to repeat the process on the left manacle.
  
  Bonus Mechanics
  
  - Trainees: roll 1d4
  - Mist/Life Trainees: roll 1d6
  - Hunters: roll 1d6
  - Mist/Life Hunters: roll 1d8
  

• Part 4
  Mechanics
  - roll 2 d8 to determine your defense against the trap area.
  - roll 2 d8 to determine how much trap damage targets the princess.
  - adjust her HP accordingly
  - roll 2 d8 to determine your defense against the shadowling area.
  - roll 2 d8 to determine how much shadow damage targets the princess.
  - adjust her HP accordingly
  - leftover defense does not stack
  
  Bonus Mechanics
  
  - Trainees: +0 defense
  - Mist/Moon Trainees: + 2 defense
  - Hunters: + 2 defense
  - Mist/Moon Hunters: + 3 defense
  

This wasn't so bad! "Is that all you've got?!" Candace laughed, playfully taunting the shadows. She kicked, twirled and practically danced up the stairs as she fought her way through the shadows, laughing the whole way through.

At least until she tripped. She gasped and stumbled, the talon on her heel nicking one of the shadow creatures and getting it off her just as she managed to pull herself up the final flight of stairs.

That was close.

Sighing, Candace looked around. Where next..think, Candace, think! That tile? No. Too close. Too easy. That one? No, too far. She didn't want to risk missing and landing on a painful tile. Maybe that one?

She was nervous. It was obvious just watching her.

No failing. No failing. No failing.

That one.

Candace unsummoned Atropos, strictly because she was just too bulky for Candace to make a good jump with, and went for it. She jumped...and missed the tile she was going for. The one she landed on was spiked, and the spikes painfully stabbed at one of her legs. "s**t!" She hissed, scrambling off the tile and stopping only to inspect her leg. s**t, s**t, s**t! She unwrapped her scarf from around her neck to tie it around her leg as a makeshift tourniquet. Welp, that was going to need cleaning. Again.

She hurried up the stairs as fast as she could limp.

Candace was humming, occasionally singing under her breath. 'And I pity~ any girl who isn't me todaaaay~.' Oh, delightful. She felt it a fitting song for Robert.

The second manacle was unlocked with ease. "I'm afraid you're too heavy for me to carry like a true hero, but you're welcome to hold my hand." She teased, snickering. This was too funny.

"I'm good, thanks." He answered dryly, gesturing for Candace to lead the way. She made a soft tsking noise.

"Didn't they teach you manners in princess school?" But nevertheless she took the lead this time, guiding Princess Robert down the stairs.

What was that ticking sound? Candace stopped, holding an arm out for Robert to do the same and not pass her. "What--"

"..GET DOWN!" Candace shouted, throwing herself over a ducking Princess Robert as a plank suddenly sprung up from a nearby tile and slammed against Candace's back. She winced and bit her lip, clenching her fists tightly before relaxing and moving off the princess. Ow. <******** class="quote">

Candace summoned Atropos again once they reached the stairs that lead down through the shadowlings area. This part was the easy part..sort of. It'd been easy on her own, she could only imagine what it would be like with a second person. "Stick close to me, okay?"

Finally. Finally Candace made it out the door, guiding the golem out and then shoving the door closed behind her. God! She just stood there at first, eyes wide, heart racing and breath panting. Shadowlings, a killer room...

That.

Was.

Awesome.

Suddenly she laughed, sliding down the door until she was sitting on the ground. She tipped her head back against it, grinning and giggling. That was so much fun. "After I get my leg looked at we should do that again, Atropos. That was fun!" Why had she been putting it off for so long?! The adrenaline rush was amazing! It wasn't quite the same but sitting here? It was almost like she'd been told she could hold Circe again. The way her skin tingled with excitement and she couldn't stop grinning, she didn't want that feeling to go away.

She'd passed.

Had Aria really been watching? She hoped she had. She wanted to make her proud even if her performance in the trap room had been rather dismal.

Candace opened her eyes upon hearing Aria's voice, lifting her head to look her way and watch her leader approach her. Her grin fell when what she said actually registered with her. She opened her mouth to reply to her but all that came out was a pained cry as she flinched away from the hard nudge, reaching for it out of instinct as if holding her leg would make the pain shooting up go away. Shiiiit! It was still raw and painful! Did she have to do it so hard?! But Aria was right, it was very lucky that Candace hadn't torn a muscle or a tendon or anything of the sort. She'd be done for if she couldn't use her legs. She...she could never use Atropos again if she couldn't use her legs. She'd be dead if she was useless. At the mention of Lance's condition she winced and lowered her head, looking much like a scolded child as she stared up at Aria. Or worse. If she couldn't use Atropos she'd...there'd be no point in keeping a hunter trained to use her legs to fight if she couldn't use her legs. The very thought made her sick. She wasn't treating her legs well enough; Candace was taking it all for granted.

She was glad that Aria was a drastically more merciful leader than the rest when she said she liked her trainees in one piece. Good, good. She cared. "Yes, ma'am. Of course." She finally said when told she couldn't do anymore courses. She had no intention of trying them with a bum leg. However the change to her requirements for the death course visibly startled her. What?

"...Y..yes, ma'am. I'll do better next time, I promise." Candace answered with wide eyes. "I understand.." Only one shot. s**t. She hoped this didn't bite her in the a** later...