>Current objectives:
-Stay alive.
-Find your way back to the crossroads.
-Liberate Earth
-Put an end to the war.
-Put an end to the Corruption

>Current inventory
-1 KV-09 Combination assault blade/energy pistol. Modified with the Void Knight Shield
-1 Screwdriver
-1 Adjustable wrench
-Various spare parts
-A pouch of gold coins
-Another pouch with 17 "Calling Crystals"
-5/10 light travel rations
-7/10 full oil can
-5/10 bandages

>Current energy stored
-4 Aether tanks
-2 Void tanks
-0 Apotropeia tanks
-0 empty tanks
-Support tank-Aether (12/12 full)
-Weapon-Empty
-12 EP per tank

>Calling Crystal contacts
-Jodo, chief of Yujun village (Palia)
-Rose, interplanetary drifter (Currently on Aklabra)
-Jax, Hecatun Way Knight (Currently on The Crossroads)
-Parin, Hecatun Way Knight Trainee (Currently on The Crossroads)
-Winnow, Veeka Spirit Singer (Bray)

>Current known techniques
-Blade Wave (cost:5 EP)
-Charge Shot (cost:3 EP)
-Scatter Shot (cost:3 EP)
-Close Lesser wound (cost:1 EP)
-Close Moderate wound (cost:3 EP)
-Repulse (cost:2 EP)
-Repulsor Blast (cost:3 EP
-Reflection Field (cost: 7 EP)

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Thorn and Oz have been arguing for 5 minutes straight, leaving little to no room for you to jump in. Oz’s arguments are all fairly concise, it’s clear that he’s been considering this option for a lot longer than one day.

Thorn on the other hand, is not having it. “So that’s your big plan then, to end the war by escalating it?”

“Because it’s coming to such a swift conclusion, isn’t it? Thorn, we’ve tried all of the peaceful ways. Not only did they not work, but Kalki almost destroyed Aklabra! And even if he hadn’t, just him being here damn near turned the place into a war zone!” Oz says.

As you consider where this conversation is going (nowhere), you get a prompt from Vicky.

>Message received
>From: Jax, Hecatun Wayknight.
>Play now?


>[ ] Yes

>[ ] No

>[ ] Other

>>31524812
>YES
Might have something more important for us then arguing with a power mad wizard.

>>31524948
>Yeah
But power mad? Dunno about that. Desperate, maybe.

>>31524812
From jax. Probably containing news regarding parin.

>yes

>>31525088
>Aye
See to our favorite green girl. Wanna rub as much salt in her prick brother's wounds as possible.

>>31524812
sure, but also take in abit of your surroundings, we haven't really seen what aklabran stuff looks like

>writing

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>>31524812
yes

good to have you back dizzy I was thinking about this quest yesterday. and how I was considering getting a twitter just to tell you I missed it, I hope you and cowriter kun would return to us with your awesomeness

<Yes.

“The Crossroads aren’t safe for you. Avoid any and all Wayknights, do not come here if called. Parin is fine. I’ll contact you again when I can.” The message ends there. Jax sounded tense, his message dire.

You lose track of the two way shouting match happening in front of you, and pick the message apart mentally. Obviously something happened over there to sway the Hecatun against you, but what? At the very least Parin is okay, which sort of brightens up that message. But the rest…

There must be someone working against you. It couldn’t be Zeshua, that level of corruption would be impossible to hide. Who else could it be? You run through the other possible culprits in your head and find your knowledge of the Wayknight’s upper echelon incredibly lacking. Any further speculation will just have to wait until Jax comes back to you.

Your focus returns to the room, Oz and Thorn are still arguing. Though it seems as though Thorn is starting to lose steam. Rose has noticed your lack of input, and is looking quizzically in your direction.

>What do?

>>31526032
Thorn seems pretty pissed. I'd think you'd be a little angrier at him.

>>31526361
He DID port her into a corrupted wasteland where she got her spine and finger ripped off by husks. I don't even wanna imagine what would have happened if we hadn't got there.

>>31526032
How about we ask if she has any ideas about what these Seekers are. He mentioned it in her segment.

>>31526032
>>31526032
say something about the corrupter how that at least 2 corrupted have mentioned this person...suggest(but not outright say) that the war might have less than previously thought to do with it

>writing

>>31526569
>This
and >How about we ask if she has any ideas about what these Seekers are. He mentioned it in her segment.

“I don’t suppose you’ve heard anything about a ‘Corrupter’, have you?” You ask, choosing to power through the current subject of conversation.

“You mean the Corruption? Of course we’ve-“ Oz begins incredulously, before you interrupt.

“Corrupt-ER.” You say.

Oz’s eyes narrow. “What are you getting at?”

“Twice now I’ve had sentient corrupted creatures tell me that the big bad Corrupter was coming for me, I didn’t think much of it then. But now I think it’s important enough to merit a mention.” You say.

>I’ve completed the projection ability you asked for, but it will require a change to be made to your current equipment.
<What sort of change?
>A secondary function in your left eye, allowing it to project light as well as receive it.

>[ ] Do it now, time for some show and tell

>[ ] Leave it for now.

>[ ] Other

>>31527104
Show n'tell time, baby

>>31527104
share with the rest of the class

>>31527104
>Show and tell
Let's give 'em a chance to yell "WITCHCRAFT!!"

>writing

<Go ahead.

“Come to think of it, if you’ll give me a second I can show you.” You say. As the upgrade begins you turn your head away and cover your left eye. You’re not too concerned about them knowing about this little system, you just don’t much feel like explaining it to them.

When it finishes, Vicky gives you a brief explanation on how to use it. Which basically boiled down to “tell her what you want to show”, which would be what you’d have done anyways.

With that out of the way, you queue up the first log. Your left eye goes blind as it turns to its new purpose, and a moving image of Zeshua comes out. You play the moments before he escaped Aklabra, and the ‘hologram’ screams madly into the room. “URGH, Y-YOU PIECE OF SHIT! “URGH, Y-YOU PIECE OF SHIT! HHHHOW DARE YOU EVEN THINK TO SCRATCH ME! I WILL NOT FORGET THIS UNCHOSEN! I’LL BE BACK FOR YOU AND THAT TRAITOROUS LITTLE WHORE! THE CORRUPTOR WILL HAVE YOU ALL!”HHHHOW DARE YOU EVEN THINK TO SCRATCH ME! I WILL NOT FORGET THIS UNCHOSEN! I’LL BE BACK FOR YOU AND THAT TRAITOROUS LITTLE WHORE! THE CORRUPTOR WILL HAVE YOU ALL!”.

There is a moment of stunned silence after the hologram disappears, and Oz is the first to speak. “That’s disturbing… Who is that? What happened to him?”

“He is… was… a Wayknight. Exposure to the Corruption caused this. He attacked me and a friend on Aklabra before Kalki tried to blow the place up.” You say as you queue up the next log. “This next one is from when I found Rose.

>1/?

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>>31528187

A new image pops up, this time of the multitudes of strange humanoid creatures that attacked you. “Do NoT, We HaVe WhAt We CaMe FoR. tHe MeRiDaN aNd ThE VoId KnIgHt ArE oF nO cOnSeQuEnCe To Us. ThE CoRrUpToR rEqUiReS uS tO rEtUrN.” The viewpoint closes in on them quickly. “Oh no, I’m not done with you fuckers yet!” The creature in view seems… amused? You didn’t notice it then, but now… “Do NoT bE hAsTy VoIdKnIgHt. YoUr TiMe WiLl CoMe. SoOn AlL wIlL bE aS oNe.” The creature fades from view as your sword crosses the viewpoint, then the recording ends.

Vision returns to your left eye, and you attempt to gauge everyone’s reactions. Rose is hiding behind Thorn. Understandable, these things did almost kill her. Thorn looks… present, you’re having a hard time reading her face. Oz appears to be lost in thought.

“Even more so…” Oz mumbles. “Where was it that you found Rose?” He asks.

That’s… a good question.

<What planet was that?
>Thellis.

Thellis… that’s a name you’ve heard before… Though for the life of you, you can’t remember where…

>What say?

>>31528349
>Thellis.

Is being rose suffering dizzy?

Dodge the question for now. Ask thorn what she thinks.

>>31528511
>Thellis
That poor, poor girl...
Part of me says that we say that we don't know, ugh, THE FEELS

>writing

>>31528349
>Thellis… that’s a name you’ve heard before… Though for the life of you, you can’t remember where…
Not sure if dodging the question is meta-knowledge, or not. Roll for memory?

You’re about to answer, when you suddenly remember where you remember that name from.
Probably best to dodge the question for now…

“Not sure, wasn’t there long enough to figure it out.” You say. Everyone seems satisfied with that answer, so you continue. “What do you guys make of this?” You ask.

Oz bites his lip. “I’m not sure…” He says, taking a seat on one of the chairs in the room and pulling out his book.

“Why now?” Thorn asks.

“What do you mean?” Oz replies, pulling his eyes away from the text.

“I’ve fought Corrupted like these before. Not these specifically, but intelligent ones who could talk. This is the first I’ve heard about a Corrupter…” She says.

>[ ] Something to do with the bones?

>[ ] Maybe there wasn’t one before.

>[ ] Some sort of master plan?

>>31528349
>>31528349
I would like to mention that we did promise to tell rose if we ever found her homeworld so we will be spilling those beans soon rather than later...I don't want to lie>>31529216
>>>[ ] Something to do with the bones?
this one please

>>31529216
THE BONES!!

Fuck, were they collecting them all to make a super powerful skeleton?

I don't think my anus is ready for that

>writing

>>31529216
>The Bones
HOLD UP WASN'T THAT MOTHERFUCKER DOCUMENTING EVERY SKELETON KEY HE FOUND FOR HIS ALPHABET!!??

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>>31529503

>>31529503
THE PLACE HE ZAPS HER TO JUST HAPPENS TO HAVE INTELLIGENT CORRUPTED RIGHT THERE WHO TAKE HER BONES? SHIT!

>>31529306
>Seekers of the form
>All will be as one
>Escalating war
FUUUUUU-

“What if it’s the bones? If they got their hands on all of them, what could they do with them?” You ask.

Thorn looks to Oz, and Oz ponders for a moment. “Well, they’re perfect conduits for just about anything, a body made out of them would be…” He flinches, and then furrows his brow for a moment. “Disturbing…”

“How disturbing?” You ask.

“Well… A body with a skeleton made entirely of skeleton keys would be capable of… anything, really. The direct channeling abilities of the keys would allow the user to do unparalleled things.” He stops and palms his face.

“And as it stands now, the corruption has all of them.” You say.

“Maybe not all… but even if they didn’t… Even if they have only obtained MOST of the keys, it’s still a terrifying prospect.” He says.

“Hadn’t you found most of the keys?” You ask him.

“Well, yes. But at the time I didn’t know they were being hunted. When I met Rose and learned of their peril, I tried to find them all again to no avail.” He says.

>[ ] How did you find them?

>[ ] You realize how suspicious this all makes you look.

>[ ] Other

>>31529960
>How did you find them?
mixed with
>Suspicious
plus, "This means either you're involved, or you've been lead them TO. EACH. ONE."

>>31529960
>>31530210

>writing

>>31530210
Convenient that he zaps Rose to a world with intelligent corrupted waiting for her. Best to keep some of these suspicions to ourselves. If he is involved, we don't wanna tip him off.

>>31530396

It wasn't that she was zapped to a place where the corrupted were, everyone wad sent to their home world

>>31530686
not really if you notice several people did not like those proclamation people but it is a pattern none the less

You bite your right thumb, hard. It’s an old habit, one you thought you’d kicked. You used to do it whenever something was bugging you. “The way it sounds to me is that you’re either involved somehow-“

Oz stands up “That’s preposterous! I-“ He says.

You hold up a hand to silence him. “Or you’ve been followed this entire time.” You finish.

That seems to hurt him, he reels back and lets his book fall to the floor. “That’s… no, I…” He falls back into his chair.

“Possible, but Rose was being chased by them long before we found Oz.” Thorn says.

“That doesn't mean I couldn't have led them to the others…” He stands up and grabs his book, an angry look on his face. “What you’re saying is that I’ve been played for a sap.” He says.

“Not entirely. But if I’m right, you were being played nonetheless.” You say, letting that stew for a moment.

“There may be others left. Not all of them were as fragile as Rose. If they could be protected…” Oz says.

>[ ] You said they didn’t need all of the pieces.

>[ ] It might work…

>[ ] Other

>>31530959
>>[ ] You said they didn’t need all of the pieces.

>>31530959
>They don't need all the pieces
but it seems like they WANT all of them

>writing

“Didn’t you say they didn’t need them all?” You say.

“If they’re building a body or a conduit, no. However- and it pains me to say this, there is A LOT that I don’t know about these things. Sure, I know more than just about anyone else. But even I have no idea how they allow someone to travel to other worlds. I’m willing to bet that there’s a purpose for which they want all of them.” He says.

“So, what are you suggesting we do?” You ask him, crossing your arms and eyeing him skeptically.

“If-and this is a very big if- there are any skeleton keys left, we find their bearers and keep them safe.” Oz says confidently.

Thorn squeezes her eyes shut. “I am seeing so many problems with that plan. What exactly counts as ‘safe’ right now?” She says.

Oz smirks at her.

“Oh no, not this shit again.” Thorn says.

“Same ‘shit’, yes. Different purpose, though. Instead of fruitlessly battling those violent radicals, we switch focus to the real problem here. It seems to me that if we want to put an end to the Corruption it will take more than just stopping the war. We’ve identified a source that must be purged.” Oz replies.

“You mean to go through with this whole ‘seekers of the form’ thing as a way to guard the remaining bearers.” You say.

“A nobler purpose, at the very least.” Oz replies.

>[ ] Sounds like a plan. Not a good plan, but a plan.

>[ ] We still don’t know if there are any bearers left…

>[ ] Other

>>31532039
>Sounds like a plan
But, didn't one of those 'radicals' try to fry your planet to a crisp?

>>31532039
>identifying plan.

Yep, that's a plan alright.

>>31532039
>>[ ] Sounds like a plan. Not a good plan, but a plan.

>writing

“It’s… a plan? Not a good plan, yet. Definitely needs work, but it’s a start.” You say. “First thing’s first, though. How exactly do we find these people?”

“They leave trails, not visible normally. But through the Visio Rune they show you where a ‘keybearer’ has been recently. If they leave a world, the trail can also give you clues as to where they went. The only issue with that is the fact that there’s only one person here capable of using a Visio Rune…” Oz says, flipping his book to the page with the Visio Rune on it. You recognize it from the last time you saw it.

<Could I learn to use something like that?
>Scanning…
>…
>It appears to already be a very ordered type of magic. Converting it into a useable formula shouldn’t take very long. Would you like me to begin calculations?
>Yes.

“Good news, it seems as though that sort of thing falls within my purview.” You say.

Oz stares at you for a second, before jumping out of his chair excitedly. “So you DID find the Kema!” The next few things you can barely register. He belts out questions so fast that you don’t even understand half of them.

“Not the important thing here. Focus Oz.” Thorn says, gently but firmly pushing him back into his chair.

Oz shakes his head, going back into serious mode after his little outburst. “Ahem, right. So that makes 2 people capable of seeing the trails. Which simplifies things quite a bit. One of us must go to Braghendire and then to Duromir to petition the Matron Dragon and the High-weaver, the other must go digging for bones. Since you’re the Void Knight, I’ll let you pick.”

>[ ] I’ll gather allies.

>[ ] I’ll look for the keys.

>>31532821
>Having allies helps
Speaking of weavers, didn't you have one with you? Could I bring her to help convince them?

>>31532821
>Look for keys

Logan is not so good at the talking. And oz knows more about these guys than we do.

But still ask about savvi.

>>31533023
Also this.

I just noticed that "staying alive" is at the top of our objectives now, after we told winnow we'd move it to the top.

>>31533023
>keys indeedy
I also wanna know 'bout the white-haired lady

>writing

>this'll probably be the last one tonight.

“I’ll go digging, I guess.” You say.

“Then I’ll go petitioning.” Oz says.

“Come to think of it, where exactly is Savvi? Rose mentioned that she’d been injured by Kalki. Is she okay?” You ask.

Oz visibly tenses up. “Assuming a broad definition of ‘okay’, Kalki did quite the number on her. I found her shortly after we did the big… thing. She’s on Dergrume with a few Runecaster Acolytes and a Qupre friend of mine at the moment, and hopefully she’ll have the sense to stay there until she’s recovered.” Oz says, a tinge of shame on his voice.

“What about all the other people who were here?” You ask him.

He sighs. “All gone. The more capable ones have been making their way back one by one, the less capable…” He trails off.

“Which is why you want the help of the dragons.” Thorn says.

“Yes.” Oz replies.

“Then we don’t have a lot of spare time right now.” Thorn turns to you. “Rose and I will go with Oz to Braghendire to help him get the Matron on our side. I’ll probably join up with you after that. We’ll all meet back here once we’re finished.” She says.

“Sounds good to me. Any idea where I should start?” You ask.

>1/2

>>31533704

Oz thinks for a moment before replying. “Try going to Fir-Vost, its coordinates were in the book I showed you. One of the Keybearers I met liked to go there, and if I’m right then they’re probably still around.” He says.

“Well, it’s as good a place to start as any.” You say as you pull the KV off of your back.

<Pull up the coordinates for Fir-Vost.

You’re about to start punching in symbols when you feel something wrap around your waist.

“Be careful Logan…” Rose says into your chest.

You rub her head with your free hand. “Always am.”

“And thank you for your help.” She says, pulling away from you and smiling.

“Just make sure you call me if that thing ever starts bothering you.” You caution her.

“Kay!” She says, slithering off to where Oz and Thorn are.

“Good luck kid. If you meet any Aklabrans on the way, try and see if you can see them safely here. If it isn’t too much trouble.” Oz says.

“Got it.” You reply, punching in the cords for Fir-Vost and cutting open a rift. “See you all on the flip-side.”

“The what?” You hear Oz say as you jump into the Void.

>End of Chapter 21

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>That’s all for tonight folks!

>Next thread will be soon, either tomorrow night or Sunday night.

>As always I’ll be here for a little while if anyone has questions.

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>>31533736
Poking my head up for once, feed me your questions, if you dare.

>>31533814
Though I lack eyelids, being faceless and all, I must rest my brain. A good night to all of you.

>>31533814
what was the big disagreement about?(if you can tell us)


also good to meet you finally>>31534165 capcha crewed me over

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>>31534244
>A plot point that'll come up later/has already come up. Very important.

>We decided to leave the decision up to you guys and wing it on the details.

>What could possibly go wrong?

>>31533736
>>31533814

Oh, you guys are back again! Cool. Gonna catch up.

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>tfw my suggestion for illusion magic has come in handy
it's a warm and fuzzy feel

Anyhoo I hope you guys are collating and storing this stuff securely on your hard drives, it's good stuff.