Lance slumped backwards, his hand throbbing as he released the hilt of his short sword. He stared at the half-dozen gnolls around him, then tilted his head upwards as he heard the howls start again as more of the monsters approached them. A wash of white and green light poured energy into him, making him blink as his wounds stitched themselves shut.

Pain still encroached on his concentration, the dull throb of wounds and the pull of crusted and sticky blood reminding him of how close things had gotten. He looked around for his bow and winced, seeing it cracked and broken under the corpse of a gnoll.

Vague memories of the creature batting it out of his hand and then later falling to the ground as Sarah pierced its back from behind. The entire last few minutes had been chaos, as their planned retreat had disappeared under the flurry of battle and adrenaline.

“Bastards love chewing on limbs…” Matt said, pointing to his foot that was all mangled. Repeated healings had begun putting it back together, the good news being that the monsters had failed to rip it off. Still, Lance could not help but wonder if it would ever work the same. “I want hazard pay!”

“We get paid?” Yanesh said, pulling a dumbfounded look. When everyone stared at him, he sighed and waved his hand. “You know, the meme? The adult, teenager and kid who each get different amounts and… whatever. Never mind.”

“If you can talk, you can heal.” Lance grated out. “Maybe something more powerful, geared towards regenerating parts and replacing limbs. I think we might be needing that.”

“Heh.” Sarah said, strolling back. Of them all, she had recovered the fastest, even with the wounds she had taken. The new, powerful healing method she had purchased put her back in tip-top shape soon. “I can help. I got coins to pay back too.”

“She didn’t lend you any, remember?” Neil said, the man flopped on the ground and staring up into the sky. Around him, the previously ghostly Blood Thorns swirled in semi-permeable form, the upgrade having advanced after drinking even more blood. “I did though. And I could use ummm….”

“No idea what you want?” Lance said.

“I think new armour. Though maybe something like underarmour?” Neil muttered.

“Dermal Plating!” Sarah called out. “It should work with your Armor Proficiency and sync well.”

“Huh…” Neil fell silent, his gaze flicking. “Ooooh, yeah. Pay me back, fast!”

“Thanks Sarah,” Yanesh said, as he received his own payment. “So, about the healing…”

“What?” Matt said, suspiciously. He was staring at the pile of arrows slowly forming in his own Never Ending Quiver, making a face as he listened to the howling that neared and faded around them. “And hurry up. We don’t have time.”

“I didn’t get a lot of kills because I don’t have a lot of offensive upgrades. If I spend all my coins on a healing thing, I’ll fall even further behind. I mean, seriously, the chanelled lightning spell literally took me out of it and I only got to buy that cheap because of Mana Manipulation and my Elemental Bolts being compatible.”

Keeley was nodding along at everything Yanesh was saying before piping up. “Yeah. Equal shares for us support personnel would be nice. My Entangling Roots don’t kill, not yet. But if you want me to buy more buffs or debuffs, I’m going to need to get coins and I’m not really good at that.”

“At least you don’t get eaten as often.” Sarah said. “And not in the good way.” Lowering her voice, she added. “He does eat you out, right?”

“Hey!” Matt said, glaring at Keeley who looked like she was about to answer. “And stop being selfish. We’ve all helped you out.”

“All? We?” Neil said, scoffing as he exited his Shop, his voice chattering as the upgrade was sent into his body. “I remember you two declining to contribute.”

“That isn’t the point,” Matt protested.

“No, neither is arguing.” Lance held a hand up. “They’re right. So here’s what I’m going to do. I’ll spend the coin I just earnt on a Party skill, which should help for future battles. That way, Yanesh and Keeley can concentrate on support and the rest of us can focus on killing. Anyone who objects, well, the exit’s that way.” He pointed to the portal.

There was a moment’s silence from the team, punctuated only by the howling of the animals. Nodding in satisfaction, Lance delved into the Shop with a grimace. Good thing the damn gnolls paid twice as much being in the dungeon, otherwise he’d have trouble buying anything.

As it was…

Party Treasury

Collects all coins into a single party treasury, to be distributed to party members at the end of battle or at the behest of the upgrade holder. May be upgraded or combined with other Party upgrades

Cost: 125 Coins

Spending the majority of his coin, Lance purchased the upgrade and then sent the invitation to join and share their coin kills with the party. He waited, watching as everyone accepted it before he nodded. In the meantime, he watched as Yanesh’s Boon of the Companions which had been working in the background to fix them seemed to receive a boost, his body getting better faster.

“What did you do?” Lance asked Yanesh.

“Got an upgrade that upgrades all my healing spells – Total Healing. It’s super expensive, but basically makes all my healing skills better,” Yanesh said. “Makes it more expensive to upkeep or use though, so it increased my cooldowns. I’m going to have get more Meridians soon.”

“The one that hurts?” Keeley said, and when Yanesh nodded she shuddered. “Nope. No thanks. I’m going to stick to debuffs. There’s one I want to get soon, when I can afford it. Vampiric Siphon. There’s a further upgrade that is called Master Vampire’s Siphon that’ll let me channel the damage debuff as healing to others.”

“Nice!” Yanesh said.

Sarah watched the group, then snorted and shrugged. Lance eyed the woman a little, idly wondering if she had grown bigger. He was sure she had been shorter before. Hair wasn’t as blonde and definitely not as long. It seemed that whatever upgrade she had bought was still playing out.

Interesting.

“Anyone else get anything interesting?” Lance asked, looking about the team and his gaze landing on Matt.

The Scout flexed his foot a few more times before he spoke up. “Not that interesting. I upgraded my Quiver again so it speeds up further. And I got a new arrow type – Shadow Binder – that well… name says it all, I think.”

“You think?” Yanesh said.

“Shop’s not really very good at explaining, you know?” Matt replied.

“Yeah, sure…”

A howl interrupted the discussion between the pair as Lance winced mentally. He could buy an upgrade himself, what with Sarah paying him back but he wanted something better. So he was going to hold off for a bit.

Anyway, the monsters were arriving. No time to think about that, even as he barked out orders. Hopefully, this time, the team would be able to hold their lines a little better. At least they had light now.