A lot of typing today. Some creative writing roleplay for the DnD group.
Eh, why not. But you gotta click first.
He rolled over and sighed, uncomfortable in his bedroll.
Ever since they had laid waste to whatever sort of monster that was, down here in the depths of the earth, some amount of extra energy had somehow made its way into HIS system. This extra chi needed used! Fortunately, the half-elf knew what to do.
Train.
There were far easier options to rid oneself of excess energy. He supposed he could act as a profligate would, perhaps take his chances bothering the bald-headed sorceress. A half smile flickered across his face at the thought, “Couldn’t do any worse than Thar.”
But no. For one such as him, there was only one option.
Train.
But now, he had some new things to work on. New ideas on moving chi, based on his battle experiences with his comrades in arms.
He slipped out of his bedroll quietly and eyed the others. Everyone else seemed preoccupied with what they were doing. X appeared to be having an animated conversation with the pipe smoking Ranger while squatting at the edge of the platform, relieving himself of dirt. The Sorceress was sitting in a familiar meditation pose with her staff in her lap, likely going over her spells in her mind.
He looked over to check on his original companions. Gilain was checking the heft and balance of his warhammer again, while Thar stared into the fire with his slit pupil eyes. The monk thought his eyes were glowing red apart from the flames reflected, but a second look saw nothing. Merric was nowhere to be found. “He must be practicing his sneaking!,” the half elf thought.
It was as good a time as any. The other side of the platform ended in a rock wall, and in front of this he squared up.
“To move without thought, trust your instincts.”
As he punched at the stone wall in front of him, the young monk stared ahead in fixed concentration. Each blow, precisely controlled, lightly thudded against the rock. Physical strength was not the point of this exercise.
He has been watching the paladin in combat.
“Keep constant observation of your surroundings, for your greatest learning opportunities are always with you.”
He believed that he could replicate, in his own way, the Paladin’s mighty Divine Smites. His radiant energy seemed familiar, and the monk believed with a little experimentation, he could figure something out.
As each fist landed, he pulled from his chi, sending Radiant Sun Bolts into his palms. With his hands clenched into fists, the chi stayed within and his hands began to glow with a golden radiance. His now Radiant Fists struck the wall in rapid succession but it remained intact, impervious to his blows.
His pointed ears twitched as he focused his chi into his next right-hand strike, pushing more energy into the effort. A Radiant Punch rained down upon the under-mountainside, and the stone cracked deeply beneath his fist. The monk felt some energy leave him from the exertion of the blow, but he smiled. That technique felt very natural! He couldn’t possibly be the first to figure this out…could he?
He looked to his hands, noticing the golden glow had dissipated with the Radiant Punch. He clenched his fists again, charging them with chi power, until they turned to Radiant Fists once more.
Could he hit even harder? Was it possible?
The punching rhythm resumed. This time, he chose a left-hand strike to empower. More chi was sent to that fist; more chi was expended in the punch! Double, he felt, as the energy left him and the radiant glow dimmed from his hands. A larger fissure appeared in the stone beneath his hand, but not as large as he expected. “Hmmmm.” He analyzed the strike. “Double the expenditure for half again the result. Efficiency going down. Well. Now I know.”
Still, he was excited with what he had learned, and there were two more experiments to try!
First up, Radiant Fists! The monk turned around and spied several small rocks near the platform edge. They would make perfect targets. He thrust his right fist forwards, sending another Radiant Sun Bolt towards a rock as he opened his fist and exposed his palm. The Bolt seemed hotter and brighter as it left his dimmed hand, and the rock it struck glowed radiantly as it fell off the edge into the dark depths.
Success! More knowledge gained! The half elf turned his mind to the final experiment, something he’d tentatively named a “Radiant Stun Bolt”. A merging of two different monk methods, the Stunning Strike and the Radiant Sun Bolt. He started with sending Bolts at the rocks again, with the intention of imbuing the stun into the Bolt upon impact. However, he never felt the Stunning vibe get properly applied, as though he was unable to do so from a distance.
It was at this point X finally took notice of the monk shooting bolts of light at rocks. He shook his head sadly and muttered something about ‘need to get that one some sunlight soon’ before returning to his conversation with the Ranger.
An idea crossed the monk’s mind: What if I imbue the Stun into the Bolt before it leaves my hand?
His mind spoke back: That Bolt will be Stunning. But if you Miss…
And he knew. If he missed his shot, the chi would still be spent. But if it hits, it would have as much of a chance of working as if he had Stunned with his staff or his touch.
One last rock. Kind of a biggun, the size of a well-fed turkey, but he knew that a Chi fueled strike would shatter it, if he used his fist. From thirty feet away, he pulled from his chi and sent it up his arm, forming Stun and Bolt at the same time. His chi left his palm, and the Radiant Stun Bolt burned White Hot compared to the usual golden Radiance. As it struck the rock, the Stun Bolt exploded in white flame. When the lightfire dimmed, only pebbles and chips remained of his target rock.
As the last of the excess energy left his system, the monk embraced the return of his inner equilibrium. Now he could rest.
I’ve been feeling more creative lately. I don’t know what it’s from.
Imma just cut the listening time this week and move forward. If I do alright tomorrow, I’ll add 30 seconds next listen.
