Beginner's Luck: 35

New wave: 20:29:30

"C'mon just do it."

"...No."

"C'mon please-please-please?"

"I am not going to do it..."

"Oh please! You know you will eventually! Why wait? Just... start trying your luck out."

Jinx had been trying to convince Fluke to use the talisman ever since he had come back from suddenly disappearing. She was now miming the action of flipping the coin with each of her thumbs in a futile attempt to get him to cave. Fluke rolled his eyes before responding.

"My 'luck' so far has been rotten. And if I hadn't checked my divine markings when I did- I am pretty sure I would've triggered the next wave to start immediately! Or maybe a swarm of locusts would've appeared or maybe the Derboul would've shown up. That's why I ran away and placed all of my leftover bad luck onto that tree I had marked earlier." Fluke glared at Jinx. In response she mimed tossing the coin one more time, this time adding sound effects.

Fluke had run to that particular tree because he wanted to test a theory he had. Sure, he could have marked literally anything on the beach, but because he was dedicated to testing his theories- he had been granted more information. The 'marked' tree had changed in title after being branded a second time. Now the name of the tree was 'cursed' tree, and the energy and environment had shifted noticeably to something more ominous.

Fluke, Jinx, Q and the Librarian were all back at the village. The day was coming to an end, and all of the non-sentients had gathered in an apparent celebration, even Mason was standing there enjoying the meal. A large cauldron sat over the open flame, cooking a mixture of meats, vegetables and of course crab. Fluke examined the meal with Insight revealing more information:

Stone Soup: This special meal was prepared by everyone cooperating in the village. Anyone who partakes will see the following benefits-

-Increased Productivity in Harvesting/Farming/Mining +10%

-Increased stamina and health recovery +5%

-Increased Quest rewards for 24 hours

-Increased resonance cultivation +5%

Fluke read the information out to the Librarian, who then served himself a hearty serving. Fluke ate the entire bowl and felt the effects rush through his body. Despite the chaos of the day, the arrival of Jinx, the escape of the Derboul, nearly getting killed by lightning, and the absolute mayhem of killing hudreds if not thousands of crabs- Fluke and the Librarian both felt relaxed and maybe even happy in that moment gathered with the villagers. Across the fire, Fluke noticed that the Librarian was deep in thought, but with his mask lifted it was clear that it was nothing dire.

After eating his fill, Fluke turned and finally went to examine the house that had been built just for him. He had missed the first real night because he had fallen asleep in the mines. The house... No, house wasn't the right word. The small fort stood nestled next to the foot of the hills and on the way to the forest. Entering the fort, he recognized the slabs of stone that he had helped cut and the logs that provided the framework inside. The amount of supplies Fluke had contributed were not nearly enough to provide all of this he thought. At the back of the first floor, was a series of wooden stairs that climbed up to the second floor. Fluke climbed and in there he found something that truly surprised him: bunk beds. There were at least 20 beds on one side of the room, and on the other side four beds lay spaced out evenly with crates for personal storage. In between each of the stacked beds were crates, as well as under the beds.

"I think the villagers know something we don't."

Fluke turned and saw the Librarian was poking his head up from stairs. Coming up into the room, the Librarian opened a crate next to the bunks and pulled out simple weapons and leather armor.

"What are we getting... a small army?! How could they know? And why now?" Fluke furrowed his brow and shook his head hoping for an answer from the Librarian.

"I don't know. So much has changed since you arrived. I was expecting a set of new young sentients like yourself, the timing is right post invasion. But looking at this..." He waved his hands around in walked slowly. They both stood in silent disbelief, thinking of the possibilities.

"What really scares me Fluke... Is the Outsiders... The Derboul will not stand for this. They will send a larger force soon, and they will seek to kill everyone that is alive..." The older man suddenly deflated and sat on a bed, pulling his mask all the way off he set it on the bed next to him. He ran his hands through his hair before putting his head in his hands. Fluke knew what this was about, walked over to him and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"I will help you keep them all alive. You have my word." Fluke met the gaze of the near broken warrior. The pain and sorrow of previous losses clamored from deep within the man's soul and sought to burst out if he lost control. Dropping his head into his hands again, the man shook, silently weeping. After moments of sharing a silence, the older warrior spoke up again.

"One thing is for certain Fluke... We will all have to learn to adapt... Or we will surely die."

Fluke hated seeing his only friend break down, he hated that there was literally nothing else he could do or say to help. If his mentor wasn't strong enough, how could he be strong enough? The boy gritted his teeth and decided to do something extremely reckless. He pulled out his talisman and held it out waiting for the Librarian to meet his gaze. When he did, Fluke nodded. "Call it." The Librarian inhaled sharply, and Jinx popped into the room with a wicked gleam in her eyes.

"Heads." Fluke missed catching the coin, caught off guard by the sudden appearance of Jinx. The coin fell to the ground and bounced before rolling away and settling in with a thunderous rattle on the floor. Jinx let out a frustrated noise and walked to a bed and crossed her arms, pouting. Just as both men looked at each other in confusion, a warmth rushed into the room, and there once again, filling them both with hope- was Lady Luck.

The elegant goddess bent down and picked up the coin, with a flirtatious smile and spoke the word they were all hoping for: "Heads."